The last post

I started this blog last June as a fun sideline. Over the months it has increasingly required more of me than I originally planned. Because of its popularity it has also complicated life in my day job, producing and presenting Bondi+.

Blogging is an all or nothing activity. You either say what you think or you say nothing at all. Mark Twain once said that there is no such thing as being a little pregnant. You either are or your're not. The same applies to blogging.

In view of both these two considerations, I decided to stop this blog.

From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank all those who have been following and commenting on it. It was a fun ride and it was great to have you on board.

€54,000,000,000

It has just been announced that €54 billion worth of investments have slipped out of Greece because it failed to keep its financial house in order. To map out some sort of a future they had to go around Europe with a begging bowl. The proud  land of Plato and Pericles now even owes Cyprus money.

The late George Bonello du Puis, a former finance minister, used to say that the light morning dew can make Malta flourish but it can also drown it.  The slightest movements around us can seal our economic and financial fate, one way or the other. What is insignificant and under the radar for other, much larger, countries fills our cup or empties it.

If a country the size of Greece has been driven to the precipice by its financial incontinence, it will take much, much less folly to join her. 

Our island mentality prevents many from joining the dots between what is happening around us and their job, their future and well-being of their families. They prefer to believe in a pie in the sky than to figure how the real pie on their kitchen table got there.

Until, of course, the one in the sky vanishes. And with it, the one on the table.

The paper without balls

Followers of this blog are familiar with my views of MaltaToday and its "journalists". It is nothing but the newsletter of a cult interested only in its private agendas. But yesterday's newsletter dived deeper down the cesspit than I ever thought possible.

This is not a weather report

As soon as Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera withdrew her criminal libel and defamation case against Daphne Caruana Galizia, I blogged that there is no other course of action but impeachment. It is only through an act of parliament that a member of the judiciary can be taken off the bench.

My two JPOs

I cannot fight this feeling. Since Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando announced that he will not be contesting the next elections, a confused sense of pity crept up on me. I'm almost sad he's had to come to this.

Sure, whatever else may have made him gravitate towards this decision, humiliation at the polls must have played a key part. In this narrow sense, he did the right thing.

But my confused sense of pity stems from some place else.

The court of Consuelo Scerri Herrera

The magistrate & the blogger

The blogposts that Daphne Caruana Galizia had published about Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera were jaw dropping. They ranged from saying that the magistrate had slept with half the police officers to having a series of inappropriate sexual liaisons, from throwing parties in which heavy drugs were consumed to handing out judgements in cases in which she had a clear conflict of interest, developing property while pretending she wasn’t, and giving court-related work to her current partner at the time their affair was secret. And much more in between. 

Flash news: our navy has gone Labour

Yesterday afternoon a rumour was doing the media rounds that the Partit Laburista has penetrated the higher echelons of our land, sea and air forces in anticipation of the next election. 

Fearing that the PN would not let go of power if they lose the election, the PL has been trying to strike a hidden deal with powerful elements in all three forces to occupy strategic positions the moment they are elected.

Setting the record straight

Franco Debono MP

In two public instances over the last weeks, Franco Debono MP criticised PBS and Bondi+.

With reference to these criticisms I have no difficulty in stating that the programme never had the intention of offending anyone.  

Toni's Boot Camp Boys & Girls

I don't know what it is about Toni Abela, the PL deputy leader but I keep coming across one howler of his after another. On Sunday he was busy talking about sodomy and denigrating gay men.

Here is another pearl of political wisdom that Toni Abela cast our way. 

The good but not so old days

Reno Calleja

Ah, the pleasures of the internet. Here's an article by Reno Calleja, one of the men brought back into the PL fold by Joseph Muscat. Now that Gaddafi's regime is history it is almost unbelieveable that Calleja wrote these words just a few short months ago. It is a truly surreal read.

Aħna u l-Libja – Malta għad trid tibki

Jien qatt ma kelli dubju dwar dak li qalet it-TORĊA dwar il-missila li kienet sparata lejn Malta. Li kieku din il-missilla ma kinetx interċettata u splodied fuq Ħad-Dingli jew ir-Rabat, kienet isseħħ traġedja f’Malta.

Solidarity with his abdomen, not his brain

What was that?

I found it quite shocking actually. 

Take a look at the comments underneath the Times online story about Austin Gatt's sudden hospitalisation because of abdominal severe pains. Most of the contributors preface their speedy recovery wishes with the same proviso: 'Even though I don't agree with him ...'

How absolutely awful and uncivilised. 

Sod(omise) this

Gabi Calleja

The Malta Gay Rights Movement has justifiable raised a number of valid queries about the PN's suggestive nod towards gay civil unions.

Gabi Calleja, its chairperson, said that a proper civil union is not equivalent to granting cohabitation rights to gay couples. Gay couples, she said, wanted rights related to hospital visits, inheritance, residency for third-country nationals, parenting, filing tax returns and some but not all marital rights.

When Edward was not a politician

The previous post included the comments of Edward Scicluna vehemently denying that he called for an increase in taxes on industry.

Be that as it may, here he is in May 2008 on free health care and free education. Can we afford it?

Sorry, no questions

Edward Scicluna, one of the more enlightened spokespersons of the Partit Laburista, is now attacking me for putting pretty gentle questions to him. 

On Thursday's Bondi+ Scicluna noted that "unlike other European countries Malta sees the full cost of maternity leave being borne by the employers of female workers I also said that in other countries the cost is less burdensome and less discriminatory because it is shared". The glaringly obvious line of questioning - and I needed no prompting to come up with it - was for me to find out where the money was going to come from. For doing so, Scicluna took umbrage. I honestly do not get it.

Here is the Maltastar report.

Luciano's catch

Luciano Busuttil

Luciano Busuttil, the Partit Laburista spokesperson on European Affairs, uploaded the following three comments in Maltese on facebook. My response to each is in English.

1. "illum m'hawnx 11000 qiegheda imma aktar minn 12000 u hafna minn dawk li jahdmu ghandhom xoghol prekarju minn xahar ghal xahar." Malta has the fifth lowest unemployment rate in Europe.

Toni Abela calls for sodomy

Toni Abela: moderate & progressive

Toni Abela, the deputy leader of the Partit Laburista, is politically and legally responsible for the party's sunday newspaper KullHadd.

Yesterday he ran a story criticising Natalino Fenech, TVM's head of news. The story had the following headline: "Mur sib xi Grieg Natalino Fenech".

Not quite Jack Daniel's

Looking back on a quarter of a century of having the Partit Laburista on the opposition benches, it is not difficult to pick out a range of spectacularly consistent mistakes explaining its predicament.

Ground control to major Tom (Bowie)

Some, perhaps many, still harbour the illusion that the financial crisis is happening in another universe, rather than in this world and on our continent.

Perhaps the story below, uploaded just hours ago, might jog them out of their stupor. The crisis is now, literally, at our doorstep.

This boat is not sinking

I just came across three rather interesting facts about Maltese people who opt for cruise ship holidays.

Fact 1: Over a 12 month period, about 17,000 Maltese people took a such a trip lasting an average of a week.

A reality check for Nicola Abela Garrett

Watch Sky news tomorrow night and you'll see what 50,000 Irish university students would have been up to during the day.

Press Release

Massive student protests in Ireland against dramatic budget cuts

He loves you, he really does

What is it about facebook that makes people try to pass themselves off as someone they clearly are not and when the ploy is so obviously transparent? 

We don't live in the United States of America or China where no one beyond your small circle of work colleagues and friends knows who you are.

Ronnie: 'Your village needs you'

Ronnie Pellegrini: pink works better than red on me

Someone whispered in my ear that the Partit Laburista has entrusted Ronnie Pellegrini with an important mission. 

I suppose that walking up and down Valletta's Republic Street all morning hardly justifies extracting a salary from the ftit-minghand-il-hafna coffers.

So what is Ronnie's mission?

Edward talks about pigs

Edward Scicluna

Edward Scicluna, a Labour Member of the European Parliament, wrote the following article in today's The Times. It is choc-a-bloc with very valuable insights. 

The deepest one, if you care to join the dots, is that Malta's economic and financial policy should be a national effort, not a partisan one.

Eurozone’s economic taboo 

Two and a half years ago, we used to call them jokingly and some­what affectionately PIGS or PIIGS. Not anymore.

Butt hose in arrears?

Yo bro, gotta a hose?

Ah, the English language. It can give you so much pleasure. But be warned. Make a mistake and it will instantly turn on you with varying degrees of viciousness. 

Even putting a space in the wrong place can cause linguistic self-immolation.

The Times online is running a story on the budget. It contains the following sentence.

No direction home

Rock & roll will forever be a walking, or rather strutting, contradiction.

Is it art or commerce, raw passion or introspection in faded jeans, poetry in pelvic motion or a great swindle, as the Sex Pistols put it when they weren't busy spitting at their audiences?

Operating on the lists

"Fl-aħħar sena sħiħa ta’ l-isptar San Luqa saru 32,764 operazzjoni. Fl-2010, saru 41,795 operazzjoni, żieda ta’ 9,031 operazzjoni.

L-indikazzjonijiet huma li din is-sena se tkun aħjar."

Interesting facts. It appears that Mater Dei did make a difference after all.

Health (spend) scare

The spend on health is becoming staggering. And it's increasing. Here's a short excerpt from the budget speech.

"Kull min jiġi bżonn is-servizzi tas-saħħa pubbliċi jaf xi jfissru. Dawn is-servizzi, flimkien ma’ dawk offruti mit-tabib tal-familja fid-djar tagħna u operaturi oħra fil-privat, huma parti mis-sisien li jħarsu t-tessut soċjali ta’ pajjiżna.

Over 4,300 leeches

The budget speech on social benefit fraud:

" ...  intensifikajna l-impenn tagħna biex innaqsu l-abbuż fuq il-benefiċċji soċjali. Minn mindu waqqafna d-Dipartiment għall-Frodi u Investigazzjoni dwar Benefiċċji, instabu ‘il fuq minn 4,340 każ ta’ benefiċċji mhux dovuti.

Some protest, some get paid

Meanwhile, in the real world out there

The budget speech on tertiary education: 

"Għal din is-sena allokajna 22.3 miljun ewro fi stipendji, u din in-nefqa se tkompli tiżdied hekk kif in-numru ta’ studenti qed dejjem jikber. 

What did you do with yours?

The Minister of Finance announced that over the last five years government has reduced taxes leaving a total €680 million more in people's pockets.

Quite an impressive amount, really.

Maltastar & the Budget Speech

At 17:55 tonight, before the budget speech was read, Maltastar published the following table of income tax rates reduction.

Ronnie Banker?

Ronnie Banker behind Lorry Sant

It was pointed out to me in the unlikeliest of places. On the weekend I was strolling with some friends through the magnificent Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

Completely out of season, the sun was shining brightly on the Palazzo and David-the-copy's virility as the Uffizzi peered snobbishly from the corner.

When the conversation turned to politics, one of my friends said something which was completely new to me.

Educating Rita

The Sunday Times has reported that 50 retail outlets - the "bulk" of which are sport shops - have been suspended from the student smart card scheme after they were caught selling unauthorised products which "included mobile top-up cards, casual clothing and even a weightlifting set". 

Half a million strong (Woodstock)

I started writing this blog as a bit of fun on the side. But I must admit that it grew on me. There's a certain immediacy to this medium which is quite addictive. 

It seems that many out there are becoming fond of it too.

Today, this blog hit the half a million page views mark. Not bad for a bit of fun spanning less than five months. 

When angels speak

After Anglu Farrugia, the PL leader, participated in Bondi+ I recieved the following comment from a high ranking EU official in Brussels.

For obvious reasons, I am not revealing his identity.


Dear Mr Bondi,

Following your programme with Anglu Farrugia I noticed again a confusing use of terms for the institutions of the European Union:

First John Dalli is ''Kummissarju tal-Ewropa'' - well, ok, but then when mentioning the reccomendations of the Council of the European Union he refers to ''Kunsill tal-Ewropa''.

Of course he meant the ''Kunsill Ewropew'' or to be more precise ''il-Kunsill'' or ''il-Kunsill tal-Ministri/tal-Unjoni'' and not the Council of Europe who is frying other fish altogether (democracy and human rights).

Ok, this is pedantic, and why should your viewers care?

The only reason why I would care is that this is done systematically by almost all PL speakers (possibly excluding Joseph Muscat and Luciano Busuttil).

And of course, Anglu Farrugia will, in January 2017, be CHAIRING the General Affairs Council in that ''Kunsill tal-Ewropa'' - that General Affairs Council (the lead configuration out of 10 Council Configurations) is the backbone of the Brussels machinery - it prepares European Councils (Merkel, Sarkozy, Barroso and co) and takes charge of the key legislative and political decisions of the Member States in the Council.

Yours sincerely,


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

No multitasking

The prime minister's decision to appoint a task force to oversee public transport was not a good idea. For various reasons, some more weighty than others.

Its very creation was mysterious at best, desperate at worst. Why create such a high powered administrative instrument on the heels of a confidence vote on the sector and hours before another one on the government itself a few feverish days later? Bruising as Friday's debate was and bruised as the transport minister came out of it, the matter should have been politically closed after the counting of heads in parliament. Whatever the PM's reasoning was to reopen it with the setting up of a task force, he did not share it.

Now stop it.

The Times online is reporting that Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has filed for divorce from his wife Marlene. 

That they are both politicians on opposite sides of the House, that the husband tabled the divorce bill in parliament and that the wife was first against divorce but then changed her mind all make this is a news story.

A party with limited talent

Cyrus Engerer

This morning Cyrus Engerer posted the comment below on Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando' facebook wall.

I am not quite sure why.

He wrote it after his deputy leader, Anglu Farrugia appeared on Bondi+.

I'm attacked by a politician in a bathrobe

Ray Azzopardi: You talking to me?

Ray Azzopardi, a Partit Laburista activist or politician, posted the following comment on my facebook wall. 

I was never called Judas by a man in a bathrobe before. So I thought I'd share it with you. 

His language and mind are the embodiment of being moderate and progressive.

Glen corrects Bondiblog

Glen Bedinfield has sent me the email below and said that he does not mind if I publish it. So I am, with some light comments in italics 

Dear Lou,

I read your latest blogs mentioning me, thank you for the publicity. However I would like to point out that:

I never threw mud at John Dalli, I reported facts. Not quite, unless the One TV I watched you on was transmitting from Azerbaijan.

Franco Debono moves private motion

Seeks reform of justice, the police

Nationalist MP Franco Debono has given notice in Parliament of a private member's motion calling on the House to discuss and resolve long standing problems in the justice sector and the police force.

The 22-point motion was presented today to the Clerk of the House. Dr Debono noted that at the opening of the Forensic Year, the Chief Justice  had urged the government to give due importance to the justice sector, in the same way as it gave importance to the economy, because both were important in a democracy.

The motion says that:

We the people ...

Since the Second World War, tonight's will be only the third parliamentary vote of confidence asked by a Maltese prime minister in his government. 

The first was George Borg Olivier's in the 1950s and the second was Alfred Sant's in 1998. Although Borg Olivier survived his, the government he led collapsed soon afterwards. Sant's government did not survive .

Bob & Glen?

In a few days I'll be catching Bob Dylan live in Florence. To my shame, I confess that it will be the first time seeing the man in the flesh. It will be, how shall I put it, the closest thing to a religious experience I allow myself these days.

Perhaps it's the feverish anticipation which leads me to draw a weird connection between disparate thoughts. 

The previous post about the Barroso/Dalli letter provoked Glen Bedingfield, the maltastar editor, to tweet the following:

Dalli, Bondi+ and the Europe I voted for

On Friday John Dalli wrote a nasty and untruthful letter to the Broadcasting Authority about me. 

Effectively, it's an attempt to take away my right to ask questions on Bondi+. 

This is the clip he's objecting to.

Today, I wrote to the President of the EU Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, regarding Commissioner Dalli's unacceptable behaviour. Here's the letter.

Viagra, drugs and a maltese credit card

Here's an interesting story on the backpage of today's In-Nazzjon.

Beween Gaddafi's missiles and de Marco's figures

Mario de Marco: he had to loosen his tie

The political heat of the moment (no reference to that awful rock song) is causing the radar of public opinion to malfunction. As the country sits in the Strangers' Gallery with popcorn in hand, very important news is sailing by unnoticed.

We will be heroes

The PN's heroes are known. Quite simply, they are its leaders. And each is known for a particularly significant historical contribution to the country. 

Gorg Borg Olivier is the father of Independent Malta - a statesman whose vision and discreet perseverance gave birth to the Maltese state. His successor, Eddie Fenech Adami, is recognised as the man who gave back rights, prosperity and freedom back to the citizens of that state and later piloted it straight to the heart of the European Union.

Way to go, Glen

It is good to see that the editor of Maltastar is showing some class.

Cracking open a good bottle of wine after a grueling parliamentary session is rather civilised and genteel.

Back to the 1980s? Yes

This week, Franco Debono went on practically every TV current affairs programme in Malta. Yet he declined an invitation to Bondi+. 

I had given him the opportunity to be the only guest in a studio slot of equal length as that offerred to minister Austin Gatt and the PL representative. He was given exactly the same importance as the minister concerned and as the entire opposition party. 

Yet he still did not come.

Here's what your "Cittadin" is up to, Manuel

Below is the press release I just issued responding to John "Cittadin" Dalli.

John Dalli, Kummissarju Ewropew, jidhirlu li jista’ jxekkel il-gurnalizmu hieles f’Malta billi jghid affarijiet li mhumiex minnhom dwar Bondi+. Haga li issa ilu jaghmel ghal snin shah - inkluz dan l-ahhar fuq l-istazzjon tal-Partit Laburista - minkejja li ripetutament ghedtlu fil-pubbliku li qed jigdeb.