Exxon Hates Your Children

 

 

End of the road for a few weeks.

Tomorrow I leave Wein for London. This will be the end of my rambling for a few weeks. The conference here is finished and my PowerPoint skills will no longer be needed. I must admit I was not up to my usual standards as I had the flu, thankfully today I feel I am on my way to recovery.

The map above shown the extent and route of my travels, the first half by train and the latter half by air unfortunately.

I have already decided that the next one will be London to Konya, Turkey by train.

 

Why Societies Collapse - Jared Diamond

This morning I visited Casa Rocca Piccola of which I will write more about later, but what was interesting was what they describe as their 'bomb shelter'. And during World War ll it was used as such. Prior to its being converted to a bomb shelter in the aftermath of the 1936 Olympics, after the Baron, on attending the olympics detected an aura of hostility in Germany, it had been a cistern or tank. A large water storage chamber or well as they are called locally. Apparently at one point in time gardens were not allowed in Valletta. By law all water had to be harvested and stored. This may well be something that the island should start doing again.

 

Malta in World War Two

Today I visited the Lascaris War Rooms which provided a interesting lesson in history. The war rooms were excavated by the British starting in 1940 and were strategically located and excavated off an old communications tunneo built by the Knights of St. John.


The Siege of Malta was a military campaign in the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War. From 1940-1942, the fight for the control of the strategically important island of Malta pitted the air forces and navies of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany against the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.

The opening of a new front in North Africa in mid-1940 increased Malta's already considerable value. British air and sea forces based on the island could attack Axis ships transporting vital supplies and reinforcements from Europe. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, in command of Axis forces in North Africa, recognised its importance quickly. In May 1941, he warned that "Without Malta the Axis will end by losing control of North Africa".^[1]

The Axis resolved to bomb, or starve Malta into submission by attacking its ports, towns, cities and Allied shipping supplying the island. Malta was one of the most intensively bombed areas during the war. The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and the Italian Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) flew a total of 3,000 bombing raids over a period of two years in an effort to destroy RAF defences and the ports.^[10] Success would have made possible a combined German—Italian amphibious landing (Operation Herkules) supported by German airborne forces (Fallschirmjäger). It was never carried out. In the end,Allied convoys were able to supply and reinforce Malta, while the RAF defended its airspace, though at great cost in material and lives.

By November 1942, the Axis had lost the Second Battle of El Alamein and the Allies landed forces in Vichy French Morocco and Algeria under Operation Torch. The Axis diverted their forces to the Battle of Tunisia, and attacks on Malta were rapidly reduced. The siege effectively ended in November 1942.^[11]

In December 1942, air and sea forces operating from Malta went over to the offensive. By May 1943, they had sunk 230 Axis ships in 164 days, the highest Allied sinking rate of the war.^[12] The Allied victory played a major role in the eventual Allied success in North Africa.

Malta was a significant military and naval fortress, being the only Allied base between Gibraltar and Alexandria, Egypt. It became a linchpin in the British Empire overseas—a vital way station along Britain's lifeline, through Egypt and the Suez Canal to India and the Far East. It offered a haven for British shipping to and from those places, but also it gave the British an excellent staging platform of offensive thrusts against naval, land, air and shipping targets in the central Mediterranean. Owing to its exposed position, close to a potentially hostile Italy, the British had moved the headquarters of the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet from Valletta, Malta in the mid-1930s to Alexandria in October 1939.^[13]

The island itself has an area of just under 100 square miles (260 km²) and had a population of around 250,000, all but three or four per cent native Maltese. According to the 1937 census, most of the inhabitants lived within 4 miles (6.4 km) of the Grand Harbour, where the population density was more than six times that of the island as a whole. Amongst the most congested spots was Valletta, the capital and political, military and commercial centre. In this city, 23,000 people lived in an area of around 0.25 square miles (0.65 km²). Across the Grand Harbour, in the so-called Three Cities, where the dockyards were located and the Admiralty had its headquarters, 28,000 more were packed into 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²). It was these small areas that absorbed the heaviest, most sustained and concentrated of aerial bombing in history.^{[14] More}

It is amazing what they did manually to track all incoming aircraft. Today we could use computers and have all our data coming in to huge flat screens which would be simualtaneously up linked to fighter aircraft and missile batteries. Back then it was all manual. However, the same level of technology was is use by all parties which levelled the playing field.

 

Knights of St. John or Knights Hospitaller

Knights Hospitaller

For the next 275 years, these famous "Knights of Malta" made the island their domain and made the Italian language official. They built towns, palaces, churches, gardens, and fortifications and embellished the island with numerous works of art and enhanced cultural heritage.In the early 16th century, the Ottoman Empire started spreading over the region, reaching South-East Europe. The Spanish king Charles V feared that if Rome fell to the Turks, it would be the end of Christian Europe. In 1522, Suleiman II drove the Knight Hospitaller of St. John out of Rhodes. They dispersed to their commanderies in Europe. Wanting to protect Rome from invasion from the South, in 1530, Charles V handed over the island to these Knights.

The order of the Knights of St. John was originally established to set up outposts along the route to the Holy Land, to assist pilgrims going in either direction. Owing to the many confrontations that took place, one of their main tasks was to provide medical assistance, and even today the eight-pointed cross is still in wide use in ambulances and first aid organisations. In return for the many lives they saved, the Order received many newly conquered territories that had to be defended. Together with the need to defend the pilgrims in their care, this gave rise to the strong military wing of the Knights. Over time, the Order became strong and rich. From hospitallers first and military second, these priorities reversed. Since much of the territory they covered was around the Mediterranean region, they became notable seamen.

From Malta the knights resumed their seaborne attacks of Ottoman shipping, and before long the Sultan Suleyman the Magnificentordered a final attack on the Order. By this time the Knights had occupied the city of Birgu, which had excellent harbours to house their fleet. Also Birgu was one of the two major urban places at that time, the other most urban place being Mdina the old capital city of Malta. The defences around Birgu were enhanced and new fortifications built on the other point where now there is Senglea. Also a small fort was built at the tip of the peninsula where the city of Valletta now stands and was named Fort St. Elmo.

On 18 May 1565, Suleiman the Magnificent laid siege to Malta. By the time the Ottoman fleet arrived the Knights were as ready as they could be. First the Ottomans attacked the newly built fort of St. Elmo and after a whole month of fighting the fort was in rubble and the soldiers kept fighting until the Turks ended their lives. After this they started attacking Birgu and the fortifications at Senglea but to no gain.

After a protracted siege ended on 8 September of the same year, which became known in history as the Great Siege, the Ottoman Empire conceded defeat as the approaching winter storms threatened to prevent them from leaving. The Ottoman empire had expected an easy victory within weeks. They had 40,000 men arrayed against the Knights' nine thousand, most of them Maltese soldiers and simple citizens bearing arms. Their loss of thousands of men was very demoralising. The Ottomans made no further significant military advances in Europe and the Sultan died a few years later.

[edit]After the War

The year after, the Order started work on a new city with fortifications like no other, on a peninsula called Gholja Sciberras which the Ottomans had used as a base during the siege. It was named Valletta after Jean Parisot de la Valette, the Grand Master who had seen the Order through its victory. Since the Ottoman Empire never attacked again, the fortifications were never put to the test, and today remain one of the best-preserved fortifications of this period.

Unlike other rulers of the island, the Order of St. John did not have a "home country" outside the island. The island became their home, so they invested in it more heavily than any other power. Besides, its members came from noble families, and had amassed considerable fortune due to their services in the route to the Holy Land. The architectural and artistic remains of this period remain among the greatest of Malta's history, especially in their "prize jewel" — the city of Valletta.

However, as their main raison d'être had ceased to exist, the Order's glory days were over.

The order was weakened by Napoleon's capture of Malta in 1798 and became dispersed throughout Europe. It regained strength during the early 19th century as it repurposed itself toward humanitarian and religious causes. In 1834 the order, by this time known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), acquired new headquarters in Rome where it has remained since. Five contemporary, state-recognised chivalric orders which claim modern inheritance of the Hospitaller tradition all assert that the Roman Catholic SMOM is the original order, and that four non-Catholic orders stem from the same root:^[2]Protestant orders exist in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, and a non-denominational British revival is headquartered in the United Kingdom. More



 

Valletta - New Year

Yesterday I went for a long walk around a part of Valletta.

Again it was wonderful weather, cold and wonderful sunshine. I had started out with my North Face parka on but before long that had to go, with the walking it was just too warm. When I got down to the waterfront the water was so clear, which is good to see in a busy harbour.

The road was ten meters above the water and looking over there were many very old looking derelict buildings and small docking areas and landings, many of which were by the looks of them very old. There were also ruined buildings, many with beautiful old stone walls, but no roofs and no floors between the different levels. Some of them would make wonderful homes.

Seeing the horse and carriages taking the visitors for rides, both in Valletta and over in M'Dina is so reminiscent of Bermuda, what was so incongruous however was the the drivers all chatting on their cell phones as they trotted along.

I went to the cathedral, which shocked me for all the incredibly rich decoration in it. I must admit when I see this in any religious building I am alway asking myself why, if the organization was so rich, why was more not spent on the people?

Everything closed early yesterday as it was New Years Eve, an arbitary day in a relativistic universe, but we have to celebrate it!

I came across this image on Facebook and had a good chuckle. And to on New Years Day the majority of stores and cafes were closed but I found a rather nice restaurant just up the road from my hotel named Rampila restaurant. It is situated in what was a gun emplacement in the ramparts. Rampila's Terrace is the the bastion emplacements overlooking the protective ditch and the entrance to the City in the very same vital strategic position planned by Liparelli. The tunnels and terrace were constructed under the Cavalier of St John and were designed to be the pivotal part of the defence of the city against attack from land. Together with the Cavalier of St. James, facing from the opposite of the bridge, these fortifications commanded the approaches to the city. Unfortunately, with the preservation work that is taking place their view is mainly of scaffolding. However the food was great, I had rabbit which 'tastes like chicken'.

As is was leaving I noticed a pulley with a rope running through it hanging over a hole leading downwards. On enquiring I was told this is a very old well (or more likely a cistern). It appeared to be the traditional bottle shape that goes back over two thousand years. And believe it or not it is still in use, they use if for watering the plants around the terrace. I have to imagine it was part of the Crusaders water security efforts.

Here is another Crusader water initiative, a tunnel that fed the fountains. Also known as the Knights Hospitaller and the Order of St. John, the Knights of Malta, established in 1099, gained a formidable military reputation as enemies of Muslims during the Crusades, a series of Christian military campaigns that originally had the goal of capturing Jerusalem. The Christian order, though vastly outnumbered by Ottoman Turks, triumphed in the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.

The experience, though, inspired them to found the fortress city of Valletta on a high peninsula that was secure but lacking in natural water sources. Water security was a major priority during the city's construction, the goal being to maintain the supply even during future sieges, according to Said. "They soon realized that the rainwater and the wells they had were just not enough," he said.

Water was therefore transported to the city from valleys to the west via an aqueduct, the remains of which still stand. The Palace Square location of the newfound tunnels supports the idea that the network was intended for water, the team said. The tunnel apparently fed a grand fountain in Palace Square via the underground reservoir. The fountain was later moved when the British ruled the island, from 1814 to 1964. We always seem to come to a place in our development of modernization where we forget the importance of water security.

"This fountain marked the very important achievement of getting water to the city," survey leader Borg said. Centuries-old lead pipes and metal valves for operating the fountain have been found, according to Said. The tunnel's connecting branches may have included service passages used by the Knights' chief hydraulic engineer, or fontaniere.

"Together with his team, [the fontaniere] was in charge of monitoring and maintaining the fountains and conduits," Said added. "They were also responsible for switching off the fountains at night."

Knights of Sanitation

Other rumors of underground Valletta include a secret carriageway from the city to the palace of the Roman Catholic inquisitor—charged with rooting out heretics—under Valletta's harbor. Such tales of secret military passages have more solid foundations, according to Said, since underground passages do run beneath the battlements protecting Valletta's landfront. But Said suspects many of the subterranean legends spring from water-supply and drainage tunnels.

Valletta was hit by plague in the 17th century, when the 1340s Black Death epidemic still loomed in people's minds, he said. "They wanted to make sure this problem never happened again," Said added. In fact, the city's plumbing system was highly advanced for the 16th and 17th centuries, he noted.

By comparison, major cities like London and Vienna "were still wallowing in their own muck."