Henrik Piski, Spokesperson of IT and Telecommunication of Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party of Malta

Windows 7 The case against Microsoft and proprietary software

henrikpiski — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:19:35 +0000

I suggest the reading of the following site: http://windows7sins.org/

Go abroad if you want to save on your international SMS

henrikpiski — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:40:10 +0000

Why is it more expensive to send a SMS from Malta to another E.U. country (eur 0.23) than from another E.U. country to Malta (eur 0.13)?

Why is a German for example charged eur 0.13 for a SMS to Germany while a Maltese is charged eur 0.23 for the same SMS?

This questions remains unanswered by all 3 mobile phone operators and the regulator.

Internet interruption of several hours

henrikpiski — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:45:48 +0000

Once again the Malta Communication Authority (MCA) is urged to strengthen the regulation of internet provision of in Malta. As already happened in August 2008, recent events have shown how fragile the current provision of internet in Malta can be. Despite having increased the number of cables connecting to the international internet grid, it is clear that no failover policies are in place. Customers of one of the major ISPs have been left stranded for several hours, depriving them of basic internet and international telephony.

It is amazing that since last major internet disruption in August 2008, no failover and no alternatives are given to the public. It is not understandable why the MCA has failed in its role of regulator.

The recent interruption of services (Enemalta, Melita) has caused damage to the business community; the regulators and the government should make every effort in order to avoid these situations in the near future.

AD welcomes consumer protection regulations in mobile telephony

henrikpiski — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:08:13 +0000

Following new EU regulations regarding mobile telephony, Prof. Arnold Cassola, AD Chairperson, said:’Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party, welcomes the introduction of the new EU roaming regulation proposed by the European Commission in September 2008 and approved by the European Parliament in April 2009. The new EU Roaming Regulation makes sure that the prices for SMS roaming are harmonized and capped. Consumers will also be able to surf the web, download movies or send holiday pictures with their mobile without experiencing ‘bill shocks’ on returning back home from holidays this summer.’

Henrik Piski, Spokesperson for IT and Communications adds: ‘Alternattiva Demokratika notes that Vodafone, Melita and GO mobile have implemented the new regulations. GO Mobile is also urged to revise its price for sending a SMS from Malta to another EU country, currently priced at 23 euro cents, while sending an SMS to Malta while visiting another EU country is charged at 13 euro cents.’

Appeal for donations to Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party

henrikpiski — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:38:42 +0000

Dear Friends,

The recent electoral results have called for us at AD to take stock and examine new directions for its political future. However, AD is also facing a difficult financial situation. Unlike the two parties represented in parliament, which since 1994 have been receiving 50,000 liri a year from the state, AD has always relied on donations from its members and other donors and the money made in fundraising activities. This doesn’t come any close to the financial cost of keeping a party going.

Its success in dealing with the present financial situation will also have an impact on its decision about its political future. AD needs your financial help now more than ever. Are you ready to give it? If you are, you can write a cheque made payable to Alternattiva Demokratika send to:

Alternattiva Demokratika,
c/o GreenMantle
36 Triq l-Gharbiel,
Swieqi SWQ 3251

or make a deposit at the BOV account number shown below:

BANK OF VALLETTA account no: 40015056960

BANK BIC: VALLMTMT

IBAN MT47 VALL 2201 3000 0000 4001 5056 960

AD needs you. Do you need AD? If yes, now is your time to show it.

Thank you for your kind attention.

‘Deprived’ of the vote

henrikpiski — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:43:12 +0000

With the latest bill amending the Local Councils Act, which lays down the schedule of elections for local councils, I have been deprived of my democratic right to vote for a new representation at the local council in Qormi next year.

The mandate of the currently voted councillors has been undemocratically extended by two years by the members of the electoral committee consisting of members of the two main parties. This is absolutely not acceptable in a democratic society.

Possible health threats associated with plastic

henrikpiski — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:21:57 +0000

News of possible health threats associated with plastic bothered Jeanne Haegele of Chicago so much that she has quit using plastic. The 28-year-old marketing coordinator chronicles her efforts online at www.lifelessplastic.blogspot.com. “Plastic is absolutely everywhere–our food is packaged in it, our clothes are often made out of it, and even baby toys are made of plastic,” Haegele says. “It was scary that something that was such a big part of my life might be dangerous.”

Scientists are mostly worried about bisphenol-A or BPA. “It’s an endocrine disruptor and in numerous animal studies it’s been linked to cancer, infertility, obesity and early puberty,” says Anila Jacob, M.D., M.P.H., a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit research and advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. “The CDC has found this chemical in 93 percent of people they have tested,” she says.

BPA is a chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic or items marked with the number 7 on the bottom. Some plastic dishes, cups, reusable water bottles and baby bottles are made out of polycarbonate. Heating foods in polycarbonate plastic increases the amount of BPA that leaches into food, Jacob says. Frances Beinecke, president of the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental action group, worries about BPA’s possible role in breast cancer. Beinecke, a breast cancer survivor, says BPA is a synthetic form of estrogen, and doctors know estrogen feeds breast cancer. “It ramps up cell division in pre-cancerous cells and it can prompt tumors to metastasize,” she says. “In animal studies, BPA has been found to cause the early onset of puberty and stimulate mammary gland development in females. The estrogen-like properties in BPA are so strong that even when male rodents were exposed to it, they had an increased risk of mammary tumors.” The studies done to date have all been on animals, Jacob says, because it’s difficult to study in humans as we have already been exposed via multiple routes. “We think the animal data is convincing enough that it warrants concern,” Jacob says.

BPA also is used to line the inside of metal food and soda cans and can leach from the can liner into the food. Acidic foods like tomato sauces and soda absorb more BPA. Other plastic containers–like those made with polyvinyl chloride or PVC and marked with the number 3 concern scientists for health and environmental reasons. PVC contains phthalates, softeners need to make the plastic bend and they have been found to interfere with hormonal development. The production of and burning of PVC plastic releases dioxin, a known carcinogen, into the atmosphere.

All food plastic wraps used to be made with PVC, but many large name brands have quit using PVC. However, the cling wrap used for commercial purposes, such as the meat department of your grocery store, often contain phthalates. Gina Solomon, M.D., M.P.H., a senior scientist with the NRDC, suggests checking the date when you buy food wrapped in cling wrap. Buying something recently wrapped is your safest bet, she says.

For its part, the FDA agrees that substances used to make plastics can leach into food. But the agency says it has studied them and found “the levels to be well within the margin of safety based on information available to the agency.”

Safer Plastics

#1 PETE or PET (polyethylene terephthalate)–used for most clear beverage bottles, such as 2-liter soda, cooking oil bottles and peanut butter jars. One of the most commonly recycled plastics on the planet.

#2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene)–used to make most milk jugs.

#4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene)–used in food storage bags, some cling wraps and some squeeze bottles.

#5 PP (polypropylene)–used in opaque, hard containers, including some baby bottles and some cups and bowls. Drinking straws and yogurt containers are sometimes made with this.

Avoid These

#3 PVC (polyvinyl chloride)–used in commercial plastic wraps and salad dressing bottles.

#6 PS (polystyrene)–used in Styrofoam cups, meat trays and “clam-shell”-type containers.

#7 Other (these contain any plastic other than those used in #1-6. Most are polycarbonate which contain BPA)–used in some water bottles, Nalgene water bottles, some baby bottles, and some metal can linings.

Easy Tips
• Using plastic water bottles? Go for a metal or stainless steel container instead.
• Using a plastic spatula? Try using a wooden spoon instead.
• Using Tupperware? Try pyrex glass containers that go straight from the fridge to the oven.
• Buying ready-to-drink juices? Frozen concentrate stores longer and is typically packaged in paper.
• Using plastic cutting boards? How about a bamboo cutting board?
• Using a plastic lunch box? A stainless steel laptop lunchbox provides a sturdy, elegant alternative.

By Martha Miller Johnson, Positively Green

A ‘Green New Deal’: Greens launch election manifesto

henrikpiski — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:02:01 +0000

The European Greens last weekend (28-29 March) adopted their election manifesto for the 2009 European elections, calling for a ‘Green New Deal’ which they argue will offer generations to come “a future based on stability, sufficiency and sustainability”.

BACKGROUND:

The Greens were the first European party to hold a pan-European campaign. At the 2004 elections, Green parties across the EU ran on a coordinated common platform, based on written materials and posters.

For the 2009 elections, the Greens are continuing in the same vein, and will be running candidates under a pan-European campaign in a number of new countries: the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Slovakia, Latvia and Estonia.

Like most European parties, the financial and economic crisis has played a large part in framing the Greens’ common manifesto. Green leaders believe the crisis gives them an opportunity to show voters that they are not just campaigning “to save trees, but people too” (EurActiv 26/11/08).

The Greens are currently the European Parliament’s fifth largest group , with a total of 43 MEPs.

OTHER RELATED NEWS:

Arguing that “the financial crisis and credit crunch have brought the failings of current economic and social policies sharply into focus,” the European Green Manifesto for 2009, entitled a ‘Green New Deal for Europe’, calls for a wholesale transformation of economic and social systems.

Stimulus package for ‘green collar jobs’

To tackle the financial and economic crisis, the Greens advocate a massive EU-wide stimulus package along the lines of the Obama recovery plan in the US.

Irish Green Déirdre de Búrca, who was elected one of the party’s five pan-European ‘Green Leaders’ for the 2009 campaign, told EurActiv: “We’re pushing very strongly for an EU-wide economic stimulus package that member states have so far been very reluctant to agree to. We’ve criticised the European Commission’s recovery package as being little more than a series of member-state packages – there’s nothing new or different or truly European about it.”

Indeed, like Obama in the US, the Greens want any EU-wide stimulus plan to push for investment in green research and technology, making Europe a world leader in “shifting to a greener economy”.

In this respect, the Greens are tying their long-standing climate change and energy policies to their economic prescriptions. The manifesto argues that “com bating climate change will boost employment and make us more self-sufficient, reducing our damaging reliance on energy imports”.

The party calls for a 500 billion euro package, with a view to creating five million new, largely green jobs. Many of these so-called “green collar jobs” would be in the area of clean technologies and green enterprise.

“We believe institutions such as the European Investment Bank should play a much stronger role in providing public financing” for these green tech jobs, De Búrca explained, saying the bank should also provide guarantees for matching private funding.

The manifesto concludes that “these ‘crises’ should be seen as an opportunity to transform our economic and social system into one that will offer generations-to-come a future based on stability, sufficiency and sustainability”.

A pan-European, multi-ethnic campaign

Building on their experience of 2004, when they ran the most pan-European campaign in European electoral history, the Greens are now seeking to disseminate a centralised campaign message across EU member states.

Their 2004 experience, by their own admission, produced mixed results. Despite the fact that all members agreed on a common campaign message and themes, not all member parties chose to use the common material in 2004.

Monica Frassoni, co-president of the Greens in the European Parliament, said national parties that decided to use this European dimension for the 2004 elections “really gained from it, for example the French and the Germans”. “Those who did not – like the Italians – made a mistake. I think that was a stupid thing to do” (EurActiv 25/07/08).

This time, the Greens say they will go even further. As well as campaigning in new member states, where there are currently no elected Green MEPs, some candidates will campaign in several countries, most notably Green co-president Daniel Cohn-Bendit of France.

As well as this, a number of candidates of non-European origins will feature on Green lists. “I see it as a very multi-ethnic campaign,” said party spokesperson Philippe Lamberts, who will run in the European elections in Belgium this June.

In order to create interest in their campaign and generate a buzz around the EU, the party nominated five ‘Green Leaders’ and 11 ambassadors to sell the ‘Green New Deal’ to European voters. “I think it’s a good idea for a European campaign,” said de Búrca. “What you need are faces, names and personalities that people can relate to and identify with. This is an attempt to give a more public image to the grouping.”

Other eye-catching events include a cycle ride along the route of the old Iron Curtain and a train journey across the EU. “Going beyond campaign literature and engaging in EU-wide actions proves that we are the party that’s most advanced in terms of organising itself as a pan-European grouping,” De Búrca concluded.

Spice up your European Elections

henrikpiski — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:49:58 +0000

check out http://www.eudebate2009.eu/eng/european-elections-2009.html

EU seals mobile roaming deal ahead of summer period

henrikpiski — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:14:57 +0000

Prices of mobile phone calls made between EU countries will be further lowered as of July this year, according to an agreement sealed yesterday (24 March) over the EU’s so-called ‘roaming regulation’. As part of the deal, however, telecoms companies will still be able to subject users to an initial charging period of 30 seconds, which should enable operators to maintain some revenue.

According to the text of the final agreement, mobile phone calls passed from one EU country to another will be capped at €43 cents per minute from July 2009, down from the current limit of €46 cents. This cap should be further decreased to €39 cents from July 2010, and to €35 cents from July 2011. All prices exclude VAT.

The compromise stems from an initial European Commission proposal to limit roaming calls to €34 cents per minute by 2012. During the first votein Parliament at the beginning of March, MEPs proposed a cap of €40 cents per minute, to be applied from July 2010 to mid-2012.

Mobile users will also benefit from lower charges for phone calls received while abroad. These fees will be capped from the current €22 cents per minute to €11 cents per minute from July 2011 (VAT excluded). Moreover, a new cap has been introduced for roamed text messages, which should cost a maximum of €11 cents (VAT excluded) from July 2009.

Operators are of course allowed to offer much lower prices than the maximum charges identified by the EU, although this was seldom the case under the first roaming regulation.

No more bill shocks

More good news for consumers came with an agreement on a new system to prevent so-called ‘bill shocks’ for data roaming, which frequently hit mobile Internet users when abroad. The new regulation sets a €50 limit for data roaming per month (excluding VAT). Once a customer reaches 80% of this amount, the mobile operator will send a warning message, giving details of a procedure to continue data roaming. Should the user fail to respond, the operator must automatically cut the service once the cap is reached.

Negotiators rejected suggestions from the Parliament to consider a specific volume of data as a limit for data roaming, which MEPs proposed capping at 20 megabytes per month. “This would have discouraged companies from offering lower tariffs for mobile Web traffic,” a Commission official explained.

Compromise on billing system

The Parliament also had to give up its proposal to apply per-second tariffs as of the first second of a roamed phone conversation. Currently, most operators impose per-minute tariffs for roamed calls, a practice which ends up billing customers for 24% more time than they actually spend on the phone, according to the European telecom regulators group (ERG). “It’s like taking the train from Brussels to Paris and being charged to go to Rome,” explained Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva.

The compromise will allow operators to impose an initial charging period of 30 seconds, after which the per-second system will be applied. This means that if an operator wants to exploit this advantage, a roamed phone call lasting 15, three or 27 seconds will always be charged as though it had lasted 30 seconds.