Luzzu, BBC 4, BBC iPlayer, written and directed by Alex Camilleri.

So.... I´ll toss in a snap shot- in a measured sense- of this kind of crises & conflict..... as a witness to a life & lifestyle of these traditional and essential parts of the micro economic(s) & supply chain & culture.

In the EU, there a tsunamis of grants, tax exempt schemes, venture capital backed-co partnered-government funding & guarantees down to community sponsorship & start-up hive programs in tech, clean energy, Agra, sustainable living & dwelling, university funding programs... etc. (including left over Covid €).....

NO <dis> there, its a counter to the rise of Asia & North America, entrepreneurism, solutions, market driven fast transitions, co-ventures, joint ventures, spin-offs = economic shifts, cause & affect.....(needs to be done) 

This is surrounded by a kind of ´ín-vouge´ cool crowd, some with allot letters behind their names, all so called experts in their field, very bright, in a sense, all looking to be associated with the next big score, like a literary agent looking for the next big hit seller & they got political pull, influencers, slick social media & press.....

The words of wisdom here are, "dont get high on your own supply".

Then we had 2yrs of Covid, the supply chain(s) interrupted, some snapped, inflation kicks in (incrementally, vertically & laterally)... and that supply chain micro & macro is still recovering = Its in re-hab.....

Then we had a allot of big € bail outs and support for businesses that were deemed important and the jobs they sustained, even though a high single digit number % of those payments were for badly run, in debt, unfair paying jobs, fake companies & scams. (€Billions)

Drawing a circle around this......

A traditional fisherman in Malta.... struggling, in a labor of love, tradition, hard work, in a sustainable and essential part of the micro supply chain that has stood the test of time in war, famine, economic shifts = collapses & resurrections, regulations & deregulation = that actually feeds people (with no GMO, preservatives, artificial food colorings, etc.) ..... And then, there is  an EEC Grant offering to pay him to scrap his boat and give up his fishing license in the essential micro supply chain that feeds into the macro National economy and pays its taxes & VAT all the way up to the end user/consumer....

The snap shot version of this is; the fishing license, boat, equipment & exemptions dont generate a large amount of income for the State... BUT.... the transaction fees, labor, VAT, logistics, cold storage, ++++ etc , generate about 9x of the initial cost of goods sold in the regional economy, right into the end user/consumer.....

In Which Begs the Question... (?):

Whats the capital cost + cost & effect to fund these people = bureaucracy & the politicians that think this shit up and the cost to; implement it, regulate it + the cost & time of the fisherman & family to recovery from it? ..... (trust me, its a shocking number compared to supporting the fisherman to be sustainable & the micro industry that has stood the test of time-supply chain)

I love Malta and the Maltese culture.

I pride myself on having a keen awareness of the dynamics and challenges, political & economics, of Europe's Southern Frontier borderless Mediterranean region. In a way, its part of my job.

This snap shot article reflects a current political class of that region that portrays a kind of "we are owed a living", rather than "we are building and preserving the living and traditions with better solutions & technologies" in a favoritism of funding new technology trends in a herd, almost inferior complex,  mentality.... stripped; that means the political class and their advisors don't really have a firm grasp on the gravity of the new economic change how the new technologies can be applied to preserve the traditional + sustainable practically applied,is, and deployed/implemented.    

In an other world, yet relative practical example.....

Some weeks ago my wife forced me... (in what seemed to be on the verge spousal abuse at the time;) <wink> like hands-up, against the wall, stripped,....  dress up, look decent, act civilized and go to her pre-event exhibition with sponsors, exhibitors, catered, glass-clinker, social, w/ a couple of wine bars, regional chef´s for the foodies, etc.... A lover of Sea food I am... only later at one of the wine bars did I learn, that sea food, seasoned & grilled by the regional trendy health food chef, ethical, sustainable, eco friendly - guru.... was actually flown in fresh over night from Asia with the EU (BIO)= Organic Mark from a EU certified sea food farm  8 time zones away.....

Theres a reason for that, as tragic as it is, its self inflicted by the system that preaches they support their own....

Meanwhile the Fisherman in Malta struggles, his wife works in a restaurant to help survive and their baby is under weight............... Thats a Cost of Goods Sold (GS&A) equation = debit-loss-asset devaluation - non- recoverable that the so called smart, cool people & their political minions.... choose not to see = Its a conscious choice not to see it & exclude it... if it was a social situation it would be called discrimination.... but its not, its classified as economic, so it can be socially & Eco whitewashed in a sense.

In a way, you can brand these policy people, concepts & policies, as Champagne Socialist, as sustainable as they claim to be, it revolves in an incestuous sphere including academic arrogance.... It is what it is.... (I´m friends with a number of people like this, they´re not evil, but it is an influential bubble like existence) 

There are logical alternative solutions & ways around this.... but change and new ideas in many of Europe´s Southern Frontier nations comes slow, they too are surrounded by experts with allot of letters behind their names that follow the herd... and they all look good, wear the right clothes, got all the right buzz words, nice people, their kids arn't under weight.... BUT they dont fish.... they only eat it... And when the supply chain gets interrupted again, they know who to blame..... But that wont save one of those beautiful hand painted, multicolored traditional fishing boats moored in Malta that puts fresh Seafood on table locally, that has been doing so for generations.....

Smile Celt... Ya dona good 1 mate- again....

Kris = Blog Fan*

P.s... you should start a podcast and make it a Scottish brand, point of view = that will come with allot of fans, social media & some hate mail, controversy, sponsors,  but all good  ...  Fact is... you´re really good picking out discussion points, Social trends, stories and topics.... Keep up the good work*...