Saturday, 6th December 2008
LICENSED TO CLICK
My name is Borg. Paul Borg. And I’m licensed to click. I am 002 and a bit and intrepidly, I shall sally forth (electronically) and valiantly I shall seek out the deepest hidden secrets of the enemies of the Realm and do all many of things to them.
Actually, my name is Paul Borg Olivier and I pressed “send” too quickly, as has anyone and everyone who ever sent more than a couple of emails in his life, and I have a three-egg omelette on my face.
Been there, done that myself, though I haven’t bought the t-shirt. There’s a marketing idea either the PN or the PL (or both can take up) – a t-shirt for all twats who have sent an email to the wrong person, thanks to the efforts of The Supreme Lord Gates and his cohorts to make things easier. They’re only easier if you are a total nerd who has OCD and checks everything three times before he does it – the rest of us just get on with it.
Just to appease the Lil’Elves, who will no doubt jump in below and call me all manner of names – in between circuitous and highly irrelevant discourses about everything under the sun, generally involving a contribution to the beatification of Dom Mintoff before the old buffer has even snuffed it – yes, the government does have too much data on all of us and, yes, I’ve no doubt the political parties would love to get their hands on it and, yes, this would not necessarily be a good thing.
But can we stop for a second before we all rush off to the hills, disconnecting anything that connects us to Big Brother? I’ve not looked into this “Web of Espionage” thing before this morning (this morning being Saturday and I’m desperate for something to take my mind off the briefcase full of work that I really have to tackle) and before this morning, I thought that what was being screamed hysterically about by everyone from Joe Muscat down to the most grassy of grass roots MLP – oops, sorry, PL – supporter was something that was, actually, serious.
Of course it would be wrong for a political party to be sent data about the yeomen and yeowomen of the Republic. Well, let’s actually grant that it would be wrong, because actually, it’s been done for so long that no-one really batted an eyelid about it. I trust no-one, even the Lil’Elves who will regale us with the fruits of their wit and wisdom down there, is naive enough to think that each and every Minister since Ministers were not only the chaps who preached mass at us (and even then, probably) hasn’t ever used politically relevant information for party ends. It’s just that nowadays, and this is why data protection has become important (and a darn good excuse for any government functionary to refuse to impart un-protected information when doing so might create work – but that’s a whole other story) it’s become a sight more efficient, for obvious reasons.
So, if PBO’s email blooper had been anything other than an email blooper, there would have been every reason for Joey M and all his little minions (are minions anything other than little?) to start having palpitations and conniptions and to cause blaring headlines to appear in the party comics. Coming after the conveniently-timed public palpitations and conniptions Alfred Sant (remember him?) was having because he – for reasons known only to himself – connected a cyber-attack on Government servers with some sort of incursion on the sanctity of his person (I exaggerate for comedic effect) it’s almost enough to make us all disconnect our routers and resort to snail-mail and voice-only communication, lest some dastardly “customer service” double-agent intercepts our communications and sends them to Pieta’.
Through the kind offices of maltastar.com, however, I was able, this morning, to have a squint (literally, I could hardly read it and it’s not only because my rheumy eyes are failing) at the smoking gun, a.k.a. Borg Olivier’s email.
Maltese, due to the cultural mores of the time of my youth, was not necessarily my first language in time-line terms, since I’ve no idea whether my mum, on being handed me, exclaimed about my cherub-like beauty in Maltese or in English, but since then I’ve managed to get a bit of a grasp of it. In fact, not to put too fine a point on it, my Maltese is as good as my English. Armed with this, thus, I am able to give you a pretty accurate paraphrase of what I managed to read of the (in)famous email.
It tells us, folks, that there was a meeting between party guys and political liaison guys and ministry guys (I’m including both sexes in the “guys”) wherein it was decided that there would be an integration of data to be passed to the Office of the Prime Minister from Ministry Customer Care officials and from PN sources.
Notice the preposition “to”, describing precisely the flow of data from (another preposition) somewhere to (there it is again) somewhere (OPM, in this case) and not “between” anyone or anything like that.
In other words, the guys at the Ministries and the guys at the political level would standardise their data, and not share it, and send it in the standardised format to the OPM, which would, presumably, scream and shout at everyone concerned to act on it and get things done. My reading of BO’s email does not reveal, anywhere, any mechanism by means of which the information flow is reversed.
Lil’Elves might ask, as I’ve no doubt they will, what party people were doing in a meeting like this, to which the answer is obvious (well, it’s obvious unless you want to create a story out of nothing, which is par for the course)
Party people were there because, in the first place, there has always been and there always will be, political involvement at this sort of level – nothing wrong with that at all, it’s what Ministers are elected for, to give effect to their political mandate and they need political help in getting it done. And in the second place, in this particular instance, the party people are a heck of a lot better at getting this sort of thing done – certainly better than certain elements of the public service, who will get their salary whatever happens and certainly way, way better than their counterparts in the MLP, sorry, PL, as the election results over the last twenty years so.
Does this mean that the citizenry’s data will be compromised? Nope: not by what’s described in the email. So, bottom-line, my old friend Paul was a silly twit to press ‘send’ without checking who he was sending the email to, but that’s the sum total of it and it’s about time Joey and his buddies stopped crying wolf every time they spot a little kitty cat.
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Comments
"...people like me don't use this blog to defend any particular party"
Then why can you not understand (like many other LP elves) the information was to be escalated not cascaded?
If the NP Secretary General receives a complaint, and I am sure he receives quite a few, why can he not refer the complaint to the ministry dealing with the nature of the complaint? And if a ministry fails to solve the problem, assuming that it is a reasonable complaint, why can the matter not be referred to the highest authority? And when a complainant approaches the SG, does he not use his name and address and telephone number? Where is the breach of confidentiality? Is there not the assumption that such information is public?
I mentioned the Dubai excursion by the MLP team to draw a comparison, although the affair was less than an honourable exercise when compared to Dr. PBO's zeal to speed up serving the public in the best and quickest manner.
Although I do not hide where my sympathies lie, unlike others who claim total neutrality, I totally dismiss the Opposition's spun claims and regard them as yet more unwarranted laments.
Regarding the people that government chooses to consult for advice - these would be people whom the government believes competent to do so. Your own assessment would be totally irrelevant. Your "Hi hi hi" giggles show your tendency to laugh at your own jokes. Hardly a convincing argument.
On too many occasions have I patiently reiterated and explained that I have never sought revenge for the injusticies done to me in the Mintoff period. I am satisfied that my good name has been completely avenged (not revenged). The libellous repetition of that untrue allegation is the last resort of people who run out of logical arguments. It is evidently pointless for me to blame Dr Alfred Sant 's or Dr Joseph Muscat's MLP/LP for the misdeeds of their predecessors - especially not after the prime mover was downgraded to a "traitor ". I only intervene when attempts are made to distort that shameful episode in our history or when I see relics from that abominable past creeping back to position of power in a "new" political party.
Please be warned that I am reserving my rights at law to defend myself from any more libels.
Lady, it is you who are angry not I. You are so furious, in fact, that you mistakenly accuse me of using JPO as a scapegoat when he does not feature at all in my comment. Do you usually laugh at your own mistakes as if they were huge jokes?
Please permit me to correct some misconceptions.
The injustice suffered by me at the hands of the Mintoff regime lasted from 1975 to 1987 and therefore it would not be correct to date it "at the beginning of the last century".
For a long time I have felt that my good name has been cleared and avenged. I do not seek revenge leaving the settlement of accounts in the hands of the Almighty. In any case why castigate Joseph Muscat for acts during Mintoff's reign?
I react to any devious attempt to deny, justify or excuse the injustices of the Mintoff-KMB era because I am genuinely apprehensive about a possible return to those bad old days when I see the return of some old faces among the top echelons of the "new" LP.
You wrote:
"I am no blind apologist for the method adopted by the general secretary of the PN to implement a praiseworthy, legtimate........
There is nothing wrong if the government consults anybody whom it thought competent to give it sound advice.My only regret is that such a praiseworthy attempt to expedite the rectification of complaints by the public was handled by a novice in such an inept way that it afforded the LP propoganda machine ammunition for creating unjustified alarm about non-existent "espionage" and breaches of the Data Protection Act."
You are allowing your anger to show and using JPO as a scapegoat,I was half expecting that. Your excuse for the involvement of Charles Demicoli and the other fellow is that they are competent to give sound advice on the matter to the government.Hi hi hi hi.
You probably meant to the PN Propoganda machine.
Dr.Saliba your vigilance for revenge is not doing your PN much good,but I don't care about that, it's your insults to people's intelligence that bothers me.
It's these kinds of insults to our intelligence that made me and my family distance us from the PN.
You were giving the impression that you had all the answers, plausible or implausible doesn't matter, but now you got all confused to answer one simple question aptly put by a Labour Supporter and you resorted to the base suggestion-if Labour does it why can't the PN do it too . Qoute "I don't know why certain people were on the same meeting, but if I were you, I would not bring that subject up at all, just as much as, at the time, the MLP chose to go on a secret mission accompanied by preferred contractors to Dubai."Unquote.
I think that was childish approach as that has nothing to do with the whole issue especially to people like me who don't use this blog to defend any particular party.
Our data files are entrusted with Ministries not with the Party in opposition,the people did not trust Labour and elected the PN and now you are telling us to shut up when we ask pertinent questions because opposition members went to Dubai on a secret mission with their trusted friends.
This attitude confirms that the people's misgivings about the shady strategy are not unfounded.
I am no blind apologist for the method adopted by the general secretary of the NP to implement a praiseworthy, legitimate and much needed exercise to improve customer care between government and the general public. I had suffered myself at the hands of politically motivated government employees who indulged in obstructive tactics when dealing with my complaints explicitly to harm the government in office and today - that would inevitably also harm the NP.
There is nothing wrong if the government consults anybody whom it thought competent to give it sound advice. My only regret is that such a praiseworthy attempt to expedite the rectification of complaints by the public was handled by a novice in such an inept way that it afforded the LP propaganda machine ammunition for creating unjustified alarm about non-existent "espionage" and breaches of the Data Protection Act.
May God give you strength and discernment to understand.
You do not make the rules. All over the world there are thousands of data banks used daily by governments, banks, commercial entities, security agencies all collected routinely without any prior consent from those listed. Data protection exists to control the ethical use of those data banks, not their collection. Infringements of Data Protection Acts are decided by duly appointed Commissioners not by party hacks with an axe to grind.
Without any shadow of doubt you tried to implicate the "PN" and its "Grand Past" in the headline of a newspaper that is not under the control of the NP. Having thrown the stone you now try to hide your hand behind your back.
You attribute the NP victory of 1962 to the Gunta. To whom would you give credit for the subsequent sustained election victories of the NP in 1987, 1998, 2004 and 2008?
A very impressive response you gave to your friend from mellieha and you almost convinced me too . Tell me how on earth do you manage to justify anything the PN does and always oppose what Labour does ? Keep it up old chap you are doing fine job revenging what Mintoff'done to you during the beginning of the other century .
Now go ahead, use some of your power of convincing and tell us how the entrepreneur Charles Demicoli and the official from the foreign ministry fit in this operation. If you give me a satisfactory answer to this I will return back to pn .
I am a pensioner and my wife and I are the occupants of the house (plus 6 cats). We do not have an A/C unit, we have a solar water heater and energy saving lamps in the rooms we use frequently. We are careful to switch off appliances and lighting when not needed. I have been taking a daily reading of our consumption and bogging my head how to reduce the consumption. We managed from an average of 12 units a day to bring it down to an average of 10 units a day. This is still too high to qualify for the government suggested rebates.
We might make it if ….. we stop using the electric kettle to make tea and start drinking mineral water instead; stop watching TV; empty our fridge and consume what we buy on a daily basis and throw away any milk remaining in the carton etc; use our emergency kerosene emergency lamps instead etc. etc. In short we go back to the times of the stone age, perhaps then we would manage to consume less than 1700 units as proposed by government.
Personal data may be processed only if:
The data subject has unambiguously given his\her consent.
At least give the people a simple and an unambiguous answer to a simple unambiguous basic question but be extremely cautious how to answer: -
My question- Did the complainants whose personal data were banked, on templates or whatever, give their unambiguously consent?
A cut from Christian Peregin’s in today’s Times.
“A number of trade unions are accusing Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi of twisting figures and blowing out of proportion the number of families who will benefit from the eco-reductions on the new water and electricity rates.
The unions will in the coming days present a letter to Dr Gonzi challenging the scientific veracity of the figures he had presented to them in talks over the new tariffs.
The government had said that 73 per cent of families will benefit from these reductions since their average consumption is below the 1,700 unit threshold.
However, the unions are arguing that this average was not based on the number of families but on how many bills were issued, and included around 50,000 vacant houses and summer residences”.
And the usual PN propagandists are accusing me, a non entity, of twisting facts here. God bless them even though I don’t have their cheeks.
>Spreadsheets would be invaluable to identify weak points in the administration......whether due to inefficiencies or to deliberate sabotage aimed at increasing disaffection among the electorate
q1. WHO is asking for the data ?
(the secretary-general of the Nationalist party)
q2 From WHOM?
(from the GOVERNMENT ministries)
q3 For WHAT?
("...biex il-PARTIT jaghmel il-process TA' QABEL L-ELEZJONI, process mifrux fuq legislatura")
q4 is The PARTY and the GOVERNMENT the SAME thing?
(no)
q5 WHO would identify these weak points ? the GOVT or the PN (party)?
hmmmm....
q6. what is the RELEVANCE for this exercise ??
("...biex il-PARTIT jaghmel il-process TA' QABEL L-ELEZJONI, process mifrux fuq legislatura")
q7. How will the PARTY making its PRE ELECTION process more efficient going to HELP the GOVERNMENT?
(it won't as the government will probably carry on funtioning as before)
q8 Will the PARTIT benefit from imporiving its pre election process?
(AND HOW!!!)
You see, the way this lil'Elve see it, no matter how hard you flick this round in a top-like fashion....it seems that PBO(secretary-general of the GonziPN) requested personal data from government ministries for the PARTY'S sake...
"...biex il-PARTIT jaghmel il-process TA' QABEL L-ELEZJONI, process mifrux fuq legislatura"
Ja Lajburisti Boloh!!!
Did I state that"Dhalna Madrid" appeared in any of the NP newspapers, but are you trying to deny the late 1930s alliance of the Church and the PN?
Are you trying to convince us that when Azzjoni Kattolika’s official organ ‘Lehen is Sewwa’ gave poster prominence to the historic Fascist event the PN didn’t join the church to celebrate Generalissimo Franco when his Nationalist troops entered Madrid in the late 1930s?
Have you forgotten the ‘Giunta Diocesana’ of the 1960s which gathered all our Political Parties to fight a war against the MLP which gave your precious PN a smooth way to victory?
And now without shame you are defending a despicable PN strategy and expect credibility.
God please give me strength.
Any government would strive to better customer care relations, to provide a quick effective remedy to citizens' complaints and to frustrate any sabotage by malevolent employees hell bent on creating an atmosphere of anger and discontent among the electorate. After winning an election, or a succession of elections, a political party would be expected to urge its elected representatives in parliament ,and especially in the Cabinet, to ensure that this valuable public relations exercise would remain a continuous on-going effort and not just a pre-election gimmick. Good public relations would be the aim of both party and government. As long as truly confidential data circulate only between Ministries and the OPM there would be nothing remotely objectionable in this exercise.
LP party hacks would naturally oppose - that is why the LP has become entrenched in opposition. It is their aim in life to create a disgruntled electorate - not to facilitate better relations between the government and the public.
The word "template" is being distorted to imply a sinister and abusive mass circulation of sensitive material to all and sundry. This is not correct. In computer parlance it means a fill-in form to include the information necessary to fill all the data fields in a spreadsheet. From this complete spreadsheet information could be readily extracted - something which otherwise would necessitate laborious searches in many files distributed among many departments.
Spreadsheets would be invaluable to identify weak points in the administration that would be associated with an unusually large incidence of complaints whether due to inefficiencies or to deliberate sabotage aimed at increasing disaffection among the electorate.
It is to be expected that such computer analyses would greatly improve customer satisfaction benefitting all honest segments of society but not any malevolent political saboteours abusing their government post to generate discontent among the voting public. It would be in their interest to disseminate alarm at the adoption of any useful measure to scotch the abuse and to expedite the settlement of genuine complaints from the public
You asked: "Why not all of us using the SAME template? why JUST PN and the ministries?
Answer: Because you are not the government. Why should the NP or the government hold your hands and teach you how you do your stuff? There is a difference between Party and Government. It still is the duty of the Party, if it receives complaints, that the issues are forwarded to respective ministries. You mean to tell me that IF your party was governing, there would be absolutely no liaison between the Party and your government?
Contradictions and confusions are only in the minds of those interested only in spin or who do not want to understand.
One does not have to be a computer expert to know what 'template' means - all one has to do is to look it up, as you did, and get the definition. Yes, a template is meant to be used over and over again, retaining the same format and for uniformity's sake.
You are constantly clutching at straws because you know, by reading the text of the e-mail that the 'template' was intended to escalate from the bottom up any complaints which remain unresolved, i.e. from Party to Ministry, from Ministry to Minister and from Minister to Prime Minister and not how the LP is spinning it, in reverse.
I do not know why certain people were on the same meeting, but if I were you, I would not bring that subject up at all, just as much as, at the time, the MLP chose to go on a secret mission accompanied by 'preferred contractors' to Dubai.
If complaints and requests are tackled in an orderly fashion, then the public will be served better. Anything wrong with that?
You should jog your memory and remember how things were done in the MLP's time!
@ Dr FS
Dottore,
IF this were the case, then Indri tal-Bocci tells me to tell you that we would ALL be applauding: who would not want more efficiency in today's state of affairs.
So let us all AGREE that this would be a grand thing... (albeit during election time).
However... he thinks that you missed the WHOLE point of ONE particular phrase:
"...hija biex il-PARTIT jaghmel il-process TA' QABEL L-LEZEJONI, process mifrux fuq legislatura"
you see the word in capitals: PARTIT ??
How do you suggest that "the Office of the Prime Minister would act as a central focal point where citizens' complaints..." etc , when it is the PARTIT making use of such DATA ??
What's worse is that Indri is now refusing to go fishing this afternoon until you clarify the matter for us -such a spoilsport!
Indri tal-Bocci notices that il-Dr.bocca has again remained behind his self-imposed wall of silence on this ALL-IMPORTANT &particular point....
Pretty safe back there,it seems....
Most definitely you do have a problem with looking back at history. "Dhalna Madrid" did not appear in any of the NP newspapers! Unless, of course, in you personalised version of history, the "Lehen is-Seuua" belonged to the NP.
Regarding the professional medical secrecy betwen physicians and their patients, you yourself admit that this could not be "a general rule" applicable to all data exchanged between the various Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister. So why drag in this professional secrecy as a red herring in this blog. We are not all "boloh" you know!
1) Since you all pride yourself of having mastered perfectly the English language, I don't need to point out to you the context of the email. I'm sorry but once the mechanism is in place I will not trust any political party and the "u iwa" mentality in malta not to reverse the data flow. It has already happned during the last electoral campain, so why should it be different this time round?
2) You're missing the point. As general secretary of the PN, PBO should not be addressing and holding meetings with people employed in the public sector. During office hours, these people should be serving the needs of the Maltese public, not fulfilling PN electoral agenda.
3) If a minister or parliamentary secretary had said "Let's work to make sure that who was promised something that is due to them.. gets it" that would be OK! But, PBO asking for data, so that this electoral agenda gets easier .. is not ok!!
4) Zimbabwe and China and the MLP .. that was 30years ago. Wake up! It's 2008 now! Even the US and EU are havining stronger relations with China and Libya now!
The organization of the labour party has often been referred to by PN apologists as The Party Machine.
This is hypocritical to the extreme, because if there is one example of rigid machinery it is recommended use of templates in the scandal of the illegal passing on of complaints made by ordinary unsuspecting citizens to the government. The perpetrator stressed to his accomplices the need for these complaints to be standardised on templates so that they can be effectively processed, much in the same way that tools and die are used to efficiently process raw material in a machine. The Maltese are depersonalized - mere votes on two legs.
Had the processing of the complaints been ad hoc, or only in exceptional cases, no need for templates would have been deemed necessary by this modern Machiavelli. In the event we see that the stratagem was aimed as mass processing, for extensive vote-catching. The betrayal and breach of privacy of the complainants, some of whom could have been also completely non-political, is unconscionable.
" Obviously , Mr Buttigieg must have no use for templates a his regular correspondence deals with so many varied subjects that the use of a template would be totally useless ."
He he he, look who s talking
It would not mean that the Prime Minister has no faith in his Ministers, as you suggest. It would mean that the Office of the Prime Minister would act as a central focal point where citizens' complaints would be brought together and compared for common patterns such as deliberate sabotage by employees trying to cause disaffection and incitement against the duly elected government, others making genuine mistakes that could be avoided or gross carelessness or inefficiencies that could be remedied. It would mean that widespread remedial action could be taken as a result of lessons learnt in one Ministry being applied to other Ministries. It would mean that the public would receive better customer care and that the electorate would not be disgruntled at the next election - and that would not go down very well with LP eternal hopefuls!
That is the real reason for all their claptrap about imaginary, non-existent breaches of the Data Protection Act! They hope that there would be enough "boloh" on both sides of the electoral divide who would be misled by their obfuscating sophistry.
@ Joe Vella
“I have no problem looking back at History, Who would with the the Grand Past of the PN”.
Dhalna Madrid?
Second point.
According to Dr. Frank Portelli on Peppi’s Xarabank, our medical records in hospitals are only accessible to the attendant Physician curing the patient. I would imagine that if that were a general rule it would be odd if the personnel at the OPM are allowed access to personal data held in other Ministries.
Finally if we are to accept this as an honest exercise, wouldn’t this mean that the PM lacks confidence in his ministers if he needs to deploy his personnel to monitor and chase them? Hallina Dr.Saliba mela veru temmen li anke in-Nazzjonalisti boloh?
Please bear with me and read what Dr. Francis Saliba wrote.
“There is nothing sinister if the Minister responsible for the Police, or the Minster responsible for Health, bring reports against personnel in their respective departments to the notice of the Office of the Prime Minister. If the case is serious enough it would be grievously remiss on the part of the Minister not to do so. That much should be obvious to everybody even to any "Laburisti boloh" (to quote you).”
First point.
This is a man who expects people’s respect. Can anybody believe that I, a strong LP supporter, can ever get myself to call my own corps “ Laburisti boloh”? I value my time but if didn’t I’ll take the man to court. My line was “Hallina Dr. Saliba,mela veru temmen li l-Laburisti boloh?
b) >"...hija biex il-PARTIT jaghmel il-process ta' qabel l-elezzjoni, process mifrux fuq legislatura"
This is NOT about the OPM making use of the data but about the PARTY making use of the collected data!
CONTRADICTS the statment about the OPM making use of the data doesn't it?
(which part of the above sentence says that the OPM office is making use of the data and that the PN is NOT making use of the data?
c) To SIMPLIFY the difference and so that the li'elves can help il-bocce & compadres see the point they keep missing, can we ask il-bocca & playmates if he/they can distinguish between:
- The Govt
- The Party
?
Answer either : Yes I can distinguish between the two.
No I cannot.
Plain english for the sake of the idiot lil'elves please....
Oh please, you apologists are such a card!!
We WILL insist in digging ourselves deeper won't we.... ?
>What is it about the Lil'Elves that they pretend they can't understand plain language?
>
>The email from Borg Olivier says that both PN and CSOs in Ministries should use the same >template and send the complaint info to the OPM - not to each other
a) It makes perfect sense (in the picture that you paint), to go one step further: the SAME template should also be used by EVERYONE else to send the "complaint info to the OPM",
Why not all of us using the SAME template?
why JUST PN and the ministries?
Why therefore was it a MISTAKE to send to Jason...?
LP should also be ENCOURAGED to also use template no?
ABC wrote “Joey's Acolytes ignoring the obvious?” Joey’s Acolytes are having a field day seeing the other lot ignoring the obvious.
If I were totally computer illiterate I still wouldn’t need any expert from abroad or a local ace columnist to tell me the meaning of ‘Template’ as Thesaurus would do the job fine and would also save me the sarcasm and insults. According to my Thesaurus ‘templates’ means-something that serves as a master or pattern from which other similar things can be made. The very fact that use of templates was found necessary also shows that the practice was intended to be wide spread.
Instead of trying to ridicule others and giving us lectures on the working of computers, the other lot should answer a simple question which is conveniently and maliciously being left unanswered- why were Charles Demicoli a businessman and a known PN strategist and Saviour Azzopardi a high official at the foreign involved in this exercise?
"Il-hsieb li nfittxu l-integrazzjoni tal-hidma rispettiva fil-Customer Care hija biex il-Partit jaghmel il-process ta' qabel l-elezzjoni, process mifrux fuq legislatura. Dan jista' jsir biss jekk kulhadd jiehu ownership ghal din l-istrategija."
Translation: the PN will phone up people who complain to ministries saying "look, we've fixed your problem. Vote for us again."
There is a clear distinction between government and party, and you should know it.
Please, go on, keep apologizing. It is just a matter of credibility.
You write "the worst is still to come.. Be prepared" Have heard that before many times.
My full quote was: "It is certainly the less said the better. I am sure you were looking straight in the mirror when you said it as well." and it was reffering to you my friend, With the past hstory of the MLP, who want to look back .
I have no problem looking back at History, Who would with the the Grand Past of the PN.
It would be a great help if Mr. Buttigieg explains to us the meaning of 'template' since, obviously, he either does not know the meaning of the word in computer language or I may have a different interpretation.
My understanding is that , 'a 'template' is a format of a document which is uniformly used for a specific purpose and to eliminate the personal format preference by different persons in transmitting the same kind of information'.
In other words, if each Ministry opens a file titled "Complaints Pending', when one opens the file, it may contain several of the same forms for different constituents. Uniformity helps quick processing.
Obviously, Mr. Buttigieg must have no use for 'templates' as his regular correspondence deals with so many varied subjects that the use of a template would be totally useless.
TEMPLATE: 'a standardized file type used by computer software as a pre-formatted example on which to base other files, especially documents'.
Perhaps you would like to tell us all where in the e-mail it says te information is to be passed on to PBO or the . It is quite clear that the e-mail was to be forwarded to the Prime Minister's Office for follow-up.
The PN doesn't need any lessons from the PL or the little elves inregards to the Data Protecton Act. If it was advice about "Il-Kumitati tal-Girien" then yes.
It is also quite odd that you mention China and Zimbawa. Is it Countries like these that the frontrunner to the PL wanted to take Malta to bed with.
Do you know what is the with the MLP, now the PL, and all the little elves, is that anything that moves on two legs and is not to your liking, they must be corrupt.
The email from Borg Olivier says that both PN and CSOs in Ministries should use the same template and send the complaint info to the OPM - not to each other. I read the thing three or four times, so either I'm missing something or this is yet another example of Joey's Acolytes ignoring the obvious.
According to the recent declarations of PBO - we are turning into a one state party, where there is no distinction between government and party.
I think, the idea that the PN are somehow morally superior to the PL has long sailed.
Yet you chose to defend PN no matter what... lest you lose 'honour'(sic!!)...
Pretty farcical really... but the creme de la creme was (as always) kept to last:
>" Are there not more important issues to be discussed?", he was absolutely right.
>The difficulty IGM has, is that he automatically thinks that the underhanded way of how the LP operates, is the same methodology of the NP
Now why would I think that the PN would ever do anything underhand...?
Tell you what, this childish defensive stance of yours is boring (though quite predictable). Since (you say) that you agree that there are more important issues, shall we change the subject?
Let's talk about :
-Richard Muscat accusing his then Minister that he was used as a sacrificial lamb because the minister wanted MLP support in his personal 'EU bid'. What are your comments on that?
-The fact that the cost of oil has dropped so low and we are asked to pay HUGE charges when these now seem unnecessary?
-What PLANS are being put into place for Malta to soften the present unforseen(SIC!!) economic blow?
etc
"No sweat at all. Let the new commissioner,......"
Followed by
Let's do that shall we? History (cover ups) favours you on this anyway... so why did you go on for 2 postings ??
"The e-mail was published, ...nowhere in the text was a request that information will flow back to the NP. As usual, Jason was evasive.."
lets wait shall we? Calm down lest you suffer some harm.
And (btw) IF GBO will be proven to have made a mistake, its all perfectly ok: your image that all PN things are 100% impeccable might be 'shattered' for a while, but life will go on you know..
"it is the PL that should be sweating buckets not the NP."
Calm down will you..?
"He admitted that they too make mistakes...they mistook Michael Falzon with another Michael Falzon. "
So?
Your argument, I assume is that if I kill someone then its 'ok' for you to kill someone too?
ie one (LP) mistake = wrong
but one other (PN) mistake = nothing wrong as it cancels the LP one??
Personally I think that BOTH were wrong!
One of the basic clauses of the Data Protection Act states that data will not be handed over to third party and used for any other purpose that the one it was collected for.
Mix words as much as you want, but at the end of the day...
1) The PN has no right for the data being collected for the Goverment. Masquerade however you want dear ABC and the rest of PN fanatics, but the data is collected by the Goverment of
Malta, not the PN!!! Hope you manage to distinguish betweend the two... just in case, examples of countries that do not distinguish between Party and Goverment are China and Zimbabwe.
2) The data can only be used for the purpose it was collected for. So, if I give my data to start a complaint with the Inland Revenue, I am not authorizing the PN to follow my case. I am however asking the Government to do something about it. Again, both are not one and the same!! Or is it only the MLP and the 80’s that did that?
A cut from Joe Vella’s addressed to me.
“You seem to ignore that nowhere in the PBO e-mail does it say that the information was to be forwarded to the PN, but to the Office of the Prime Minister.”
Perhaps someone with a good staying-power, which I sometimes lack, could explain to Mr. Vella the meaning of ‘template’ and its use in computers.
Did I ever assume that people think that PBO is that stupid to leave a trail behind him by directing others to send the data to his office directly? No I never, what I did say was that PBO thinks that people are stupid.
Looks like CJ Buttigieg feels very strongly about the Divagate Affair judging by his convincing arguments. Can't blame him because the whole population is disgusted even those who are defending PBO.
After the JPO scandal I would have thought that the party I used to support so religiously had learnt its lesson but they didn't because they are so full of themselves that they think that the people are stupid.
I never considered Joe Saliba to be the smartest General Secretary we ever had but he was never so foolish to concoct a shady strategy like this and getting trapped redhanded.
People are demanding Borg Olivier to step down but my wish is to see him stay, he is making it so easy for other people to see the true face of Gonzipn .
My way is that of a functioning democracy.
There is nothing sinister if the Minister responsible for the Police, or the Minster responsible for Health, bring reports against personnel in their respective departments to the notice of the Office of the Prime Minister. If the case is serious enough it would be grievously remiss on the part of the Minister not to do so. That much should be obvious to everybody even to any "Laburisti boloh" (to quote you).
I am convinced that had there been any tangible proof of the intention to transmit abusively confidential information between the ministries and the OPM, in breach of the Data Protection Act, the LP would never have resisted the temptation to trumpet it to the four winds. It has not done so up to now and that is highly indicative that such proof does not exist. It would be more reasonable to suspect that the real motive is to throw enough mud by innuendo in the hope that some of it will stick!
@ Joe Vella.
I fail to understand your surprise that a Socialist employs the services of a Stock Broker, I think that’s what you meant by “Brocker”, It’s the result of 20 years of prosperous PN Administration.
Socialists too have the ability to create wealth, besides living in a country with practically no taxation and cheap utilities people are ending up with a huge surplus of funds and our stock brokers never had it so good. Surely you use a stock broker too.
PS. Joe getting personal would not make your arguments convincing. Debating the issue is the gentlemen's game.
How odd you behave in responding to my comment! When you are asked about the dinner you just had do you respond about the nice weather we are enjoying?
But of course the way you respond to the various comments justify your behaviour. It is a manifestation that old wounds still hurt a lot, doesn't it?
Let bygones be bygones.Take a step forward and look ahead. Present realities aren't healthy at all and with Gonzi/BorgOlivier at the helm, the worst is still to come.. Be prepared..
"You seem quite tranquil seeing the General Secretary of a political party in government pocking his nose in the country’s administrative matters even if it includes our legal right for the protection of confidentiality."
I haven't lost one second of sleep. It is PBO responsability, as much as, it is Jason Micallef responsibilty to assure that complains/enquiries are dealth with and in a timely matter. You seem to ignore that nowhere in the PBO e-mail does it say that the information was to be forwarded to the PN, but to the Office of the Prime Minister. What is wrong with PBO insisting in having someone in the Office of the Prime Minister tracking that all complaints are dealt with?
Facts
1.Jason-Micallef claims that Saviour-Azzopardi, an assistant director in the Home-Affairs-Ministry, was one of those who received the infamous e-mail on data sharing sent out to Cabinet and ministerial aides. Dr Borg Olivier claims that Saviour Azzopardi was also sent the e-mail by mistake.
2. The e-mail referred to a meeting at the PN headquarters in which a data sharing strategy was put in place.
3. The controversial line says: "... every customer care office is being asked to hand all the data on a template. The data should include personal data of persons who move a complaint to the customer care of the ministry
Conjecture
1. PBO can’t be so all fingers and thumbs; this excuse is unconvincing, implausible and shows a clear attempt at deception.
2.’Data sharing strategy’ is a misnomer as personal data is collected and stored for a specific reason and can’t be used by third parties to mount a strategy.
3. A template serves as a master or pattern from which other copies can be made. If we were to accept the process as bona-fede the personal data of persons who move a complaint is uncalled for as a reference number would suffice.
"Some of us are conveniently and maliciously confusing the issue but that’s nothing new." And you probably meant to add- ‘If I were in your position I wouldn’t have been able to be more correct even if I tried ‘
Mind you language my learned friend- the term ‘some of us’ (xi whud minna) is equivocal while ‘all of us’ (ahna lkoll) is unequivocal. In more simple English ‘some of us’ may include as well as excludes myself. I prefer others to be the good judges as to which category I fit in. Do you honestly think that you qualify to be a good judge?
You seem quite tranquil seeing the General Secretary of a political party in government pocking his nose in the country’s administrative matters even if it includes our legal right for the protection of confidentiality.
Joe answer me truthfully now-in a hypothetical situation where the PL garnered a few hundreds more votes and they are now in government, would you feel very serene seeing Jason Micallef acting the role which PBO is playing? I’d feel equally agitated.
If you opt to answer, a yes or no would suffice, no need for rhetoric now.
Another thing is during these scandals the Gov. or PN comes out with the Valletta Projects and the Ghadira Road. Is this a coverup or what, when a month ago the gov or PN was moaning about lack of Funds?????
General Secretary
Partit Nazzjonalista.
One contributor who demands respect from other asked:-
“Could someone in the know please, please, let us lesser mortals know precisely what were the confidential data which were supposed to be forwarded and to whom.
Please, some respect our intelligence!”
When President Clinton was accused of smoking marijuana and cannabis in his youthful years he smiled and said that he never used to inhale it.
People go to ministries to complain about silly things like a pot hole in front of their garage but they also go to complain about more serious matters and sensitive in nature. If I go to the ministry of health with a general complain about my District Medical Officer or to the ministry of the interior complaining about the conduct of a ranking police officer I’d expect that my data is scrupulously protected and not passed on to any other ministry especially the OPM.
Since we’re being assured that the strategy plan is in the public interest could someone who respects our intelligence explain the presence of Charles Demicoli and Saviour Azzopardi at the strategy meeting? Hallina Dr. Saliba,mela veru temmen li l-Laburisti boloh?
"I know that my stock broker and my banker today have my personal data too and I had never authorised them to store it- how can they work effectively without it?"
The ultimate professed Socialist have a Stock Brocker?
"Some of us are conveniently and maliciously confusing the issue but that’s nothing new."
You could not have started your quote any better, even If I have tried. The some of us are the ones that are trying to make an issue out of nothing. The bottom lines remains that the e-mail in question simply ask that the information be forwarded to he Prime Misnister's Office to ensure that the complaints/enquires are dealt with in a timely manner. After all, I believe it is you stated on many occasions stated the the Prime Minister is ultimately responsible.
A Parliament building belongs to the people. When the people have enough of the party in Government, they can democratically throw them out. But of course you wouldn't know any better, if it was the PL and your way, Malta will be a one party state
The first point is that an organisation must put in place a proper email management system .
The second point is beware of automatically adding a whole list of addressees from an address book. The chances of adding the name of your worst enemy is quite high when his address is just a click away.
The third point is that an email which is not digitally signed can never be a proof of the authors identity or authorship of its content. That is why it was wrong to target a Central Bank employee because his name appeared on an email.
Fourth point is that as I teach my students it is totally unethical to open and exploit an email which you were not intended to receive be it from your PBO or your most dreaded examiner.
Even though our politicians have exempted themselves from many of the provisions of the Data Protection act, one stilll expects them to handle emails in an ethical and honourable way.
It is certainly the less said the better. I am sure you were looking straight in the mirror when you said it as well.
There are no lessons that Gonzi or the PN can take away from the MLP.
Just one case in point; The PN gave us Local Concils, and the MLP wanted to give us "il-Kumitati tal-Girien"
Local Councils in a true Democracy are democratically elected by the citizens to serve the citiezens, while "Kumitati tal - Girien are found in Undemocratic Countries, appointed by the political masters to serve the same political masters.
What a difference in the approch of how one Political Party took over the other in choosing on how the citizens run thier affairs
architecture that advances the power of the state; that intimidates and overwhelms; stark facades with columns, pilasters, and clean lines on a massive scale to create a new aesthetic to exude power and domination.
Architecture that compliments the baroque era as an expression of power, even if it may be the Mugabe type of power; A building that serves the state by emphasizing what some see as being sham values, demonstrating power capable of lasting for centuries.
Please, some respect our intelligence!
We need to become more aware of these things. I was concerned when it was announced that our new ID cards would contain our medical and health information. Hold on a second here! Is this the same ID card that I'm asked to produce at my insurance company? The one I was requested to start renting DVDs at a local store? The attitude of the government is that it will be safe and we should trust them. Um... no, thank you.
Recently we heard about the MITTS hacking saga, and again the attitude was "don't worry, we have it in hand". The truth is that neither MITTS nor the government can guarantee that emails and other files were not accessed. The cautious approach is to assume they were. Doesn't this include the emails of the judiciary? The police? Hospital staff including doctors?
I believe this attitude breeds complacency, and must be avoided at all costs. These are, indeed, serious matters and must be treated as such.
I thank and congratulate those newspapers and other news sources which do their part by bringing them to our attention.
I am not a PL supporter, yet I was still shocked to hear of this matter. It was not the PN that was elected - it was its candidates. Paul Borg Olivier was a candidate but the people did not choose him. While it is certainly a good thing for complaints to be followed up, it is the GOVERNMENT that should be doing this, not the PN. Specifically, the OPM.
PBO's assurances that he'd never receive the data himself (and, presumably, neither would the party) are not convincing. Not after this email.
We all know that the parties used to do everything they wanted with everyone's data. That must stop. It should have stopped already, but certainly it can't be allowed to continue.
(continued...)
The Nine Principles of ‘good information handling’
Note Paras 3 and 4
The controller shall ensure that:
1. Personal data is processed fairly and lawfully;
2. Personal data is always processed in accordance with good practice;
3. Personal data is only collected for specific, explicitly stated and legitimate purposes;
4. Personal data is not processed for any purpose that is incompatible with that for which the information is collected;
5. Personal data that is processed is adequate and relevant in relation to the purposes of the processing;
6. No more personal data is processed than is necessary having regard to the purposes of the processing;
7. Personal data that is processed is correct and, if necessary, up to date.
8. All reasonable measures are taken to complete, correct, block or erase data to the extent that such data is incomplete or incorrect, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed;
9. Personal data is not kept for a period longer than is necessary, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed.
Some of us are conveniently and maliciously confusing the issue but that’s nothing new.
During my working career I had a spell dealing with people’s finances acting as an agent of a huge international financial conglomerate based in Switzerland. We had heaps of ultra sensitive personal data practically on each and every client and the ultra conservative Swiss laws never ever neither questioned our right to store this information nor were we required to obtain the client’s authorisation to bank their data. I know that my stock broker and my banker today have my personal data too and I had never authorised them to store it- how can they work effectively without it?
The Swiss law then and presumably now as well as our ‘Data Protection Act’ does not prohibit the collection of data without the citizens’ consent- it prohibits its access to third parties. Hence the term Data Protection.
Dr. Paul Borg-Olivier and his PN may use allegations against the PL to justify his doings, he may spin and twist facts ad nauseam but the fact remains that he and his political party have no right to involve themselves in personal data stored in the ministries.
No sweat at all. Let the new commissioner, who I presume understands the Maltese (and English) language and after reading the subject e-mail will come to the conclusion that all the LP is after is cheap publicity based on half-truths or worse, spun interpretations of the truth.
The e-mail was published, read on Xarabank and nowhere in the text was a request that information will flow back to the NP. As usual, Jason was evasive, made light of what is written in the Party's statute and the fact that they are the ones who collect information surreptitiously from neighbours and neighbourhood captains, to this very day. They are the ones who are flouting the law, but Jason thinks that since the statute's date precedes the date of the Data Protection law, it is OK !
By the looks of it, it is the PL that should be sweating buckets not the NP.
Of course, IGM exclaims, "yes we all make mistakes but THIS kind ?" What an honest guy! He admitted that they too make mistakes like they did when they mistook Michael Falzon with another Michael Falzon.
Continued
The only difference in this case was that the sender of the e-mail sweated it out until he was assured by (the wrong) Michael Falzon, after discussing the contents with the then NP General Secretary, that since the e-mail was sent in error, it will be kept in confidence and not milk any political advantage from the equally embarrassing situation! There lies the difference between the gentlemanly conduct of the NP versus the lack of it from the LP counterparts!
When IGM asked, "Are there not more important issues to be discussed?", he was absolutely right. There are many other things of national importance which the LP could be open-minded enough to discuss, but as usual, they prefer to let the government take the initiative, find immediate fault, then eventually backtrack after milking the subject dry.
The difficulty IGM has, is that he automatically thinks that the underhanded way of how the LP operates, is the same methodology of the NP.
Why so much sweat under the collar just because JM-of LP not of GonziPN Light Infantry (stationed overseas) fame - "called on the new Data Protection Commissioner (who has still to be appointed) to launch an investigation"?
Is he not entitled to do so?So, what's your BIG problem-that merits so much waffling on?Is it really such a big issue?
Are there not more important issues to be discussed?Like the state of the economy, the way Ghadira road is being handled, our captial City's facade, the lack of any serious statement on any of these from our PM (is he already on holiday or something?? )
Oh and just for the record, I DO feel very sorry for your Agent "002.5" from Intelligence.... he's actually one of your nice guys!! You don't see arrogance, "self -raising" promotion, or 'humourous' barbs(sic!) from this one.
He's a humble (and therefore likeable) sort of chap.
So the thought of double-agent trickery (yes we all make mistakes but THIS kind??? And "all buddies within PN"? Presently surely not the case!!) faded on finding out who the poor chap is.
My advice to PBO is to obtain a cheap second hand computer and on its address book have Jason Micallef and others of the same ilk and immediately erase them from his computer he routinely works on. This way, if he absolutely must communicate with Jason, he would have to go to the 'special' computer and not risk sending anything sensitive to the wrong man.
This sort of thing happened to me when I accidentally sent a 'forwarded' joke to a few close friends but accidentally also to the Editor of a local paper. The joke having been of not so pure a variety would not have been much appreciated by someone who does not share a coke with me. So, I sent an apology and a request that if he had not already opened it, to immediately delete it. I am quite sure that if all were sincere, there would be thousands lined up to confess.
On the latest occasion I managed to buttonhole the responsible Minister and it resulted that he had been kept in ignorance of my correspondence, that he would investigate and a grievance which had existed for many months was solved within twentyfour hours. Any political party would be expected to take precautions so as to thwart similar sabotage by politically motivated underlings aimed at souring relations between the responsible Ministers and the general public.
In the murky atmosphere of politics perhaps it would be too much to expect that the average politician who became the unintended recipient of sensitive misdirected e-mail would resist the temptation to make use of its contents. However, it should be absolutely beyond the pale to obfuscate the issue and to misrepresent genuine efforts at expediting the solving of citizens' complaints as some violation of their right to privacy.