American Association of SMOM to hold Pilgrimage at Ta’ Pinu

Everyone is invited to join the American Association of Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) on Tuesday 10th September at 10am for a Pilgrimage at Ta’ Pinu, Gozo. This event will be led by Mr Pohrer and Mr Christopher Hyland from SMOM. Afterward Mass which will be said by the Bishop of Gozo.

The SMOM also know as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order of, traditionally, a military, chivalrous and noble nature. It is the world's oldest surviving order of chivalry. It is headquartered in Rome.

Why Labor Day

Labor Day is to the US what 1^st of May is to Malta. This year this federal holiday comes at a time when the US economy seems to be picking up. With news of companies like GE, Lenovo and Apple in the process of moving manufacturing back to the US, we sincerely hope that this year’s Labor Day celebrations will mark the beginning of a period of economic recovery during which workers will have decent jobs and their basic right to work is fulfilled.

Labor Day was first proposed as a holiday in 1882. Although it is not universally agreed as to who first suggested it, it came during a time when workers typically worked a twelve hour day, seven days a week and earned just enough money to live a basic lifestyle. Working conditions were awful with no concern for the mental and physical safety of workers. Movies such as Modern Times, Silkwood, Roger & Me, The Grapes of Wrath and Norma Rae should help you appreciate what Labor Day is all about.

The first Labor Day march took place on September 5 1882 in New York. The date was chosen because it was felt that there were no holidays between July 4^th and Thanksgiving. Workers first marched from City Hall to Union Square and then spent an afternoon at Reservoir Park being entertained and listening to speeches asking for an 8 hour day. Initially workers would have had to take an unpaid day off to participate in the holiday. Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday on February 21, 1887 and others soon followed.

In 1894 workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company went on strike following a reduction in wages. President Grover Cleveland sent 12,000 federal troops to Pullman, Chicago and violence erupted. A number of workers died in the clashes that ensued. President Cleveland made Labor Day a federal holiday just six days after the strike ended.

The first Monday of September was retained rather than more widespread International Workers' Day (May 1) because Cleveland was concerned that observance of the latter would be associated with Communists.

Many families today use Labor Day to mark the end of summer.

Improving US Entry Process

US Travel Association is a non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry. According to this organization, the national and international travel industry generates $1.9 trillion in economic output and supports 14.4 million jobs.

US Travel has setup a website at http://www.travelersvoice.org/ to lobby the Congress to make the visitor entry process into the US simpler and more efficient. This can be achieved by employing more people and by investing in technology that will  make the process of entering the USA quicker.

According to surveys conducted by this organisation:

• One in seven overseas travellers missed a connection because of long delays at customs;
• 100 million overseas travellers are away of the negative experience of others from the inefficient customs and entry process;
• Almost 50% of overseas business travels won't visit the Us because of the cumbersome entry process.

If you are a US citizen and would like lobby to make the processes more efficient go to http://www.travelersvoice.org/. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Contact Congress button in the Get Involved section.

The Malta Railway

If you happen to be in the vicinity of Attard you might want to pop over to the Malta Railway Museum. This mini museum is managed by Nicholas Azzopardi. Malta once had its very own railway running between Rabat and Valletta. Triq il-Linja, Mile End, Il-Gnien ta l-Istazzjon, Old Railway Road, Railway embankment are references to structures and places that relate to the time when the trains were operational. For more information and to book a visit to this museum surf to http://www.maltarailway.com/.