What a pair

Joe & John

John Dalli went on Inkontri for a back-scratch-a-thon with Joe Grima, his new buddy on the Labour block. 

What a pair. Even if you completely turn the TV sound off you can tell what is so deeply wrong here.

A man who wants everyone to forget his past interviews a man who wants everyone to remember his.

Of cruxifictions in court

Some have expressed an interest in the legal arguments that my lawyer, Dr Anthony Cremona made in my defence in the crucifix kissing court case.

Below is the full version of our representations to the court. They include Judge Vanni Bonello's magisterial opinions at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. 

MT goes off its rocker. Again.

Over the weekend Malta Today sent questions to the Office of the Prime Minister regarding allegations that a Nationalist MP is supposed to be connected to a 'fund' used to bribe footballers.

The PM, while denying any knowledge of the matter, immediately asked the Police Commissioner to investigate. When MT contacted the MP in question he also "denied any knowledge of the matter and categorically denied his involvement in any match-rigging allegations".

Now here's some real 'hmieg'

Two rights sometimes do make a wrong

Karmenu Vella: to reduce or not to reduce

On Saturday I heard Karmenu Vella say something rather odd on TVM's Dissett.

He said that the PN is in a Catch-22 situation with its electoral promise to lower the 35% tax band to 25%. 

If the PN does not keep its promise, said the author of the PL's upcoming electoral manifesto, it would effectively be defaulting on it. He's absolutely right.

Young men who make you hope

Stalko

Just when you're about to accept that this country will always remain a tiny insular island state something happens which lifts your spirits and makes you hope again.

Listen to this beautiful piece of music by the local band Stalko.

The PL is turning into my mother

Not my mother

At home in Gozo we joke with my mother - a diminutive Mediterranean matriarch - about her excess strength of character. Her motto, my sisters and I tell her affectionately, is 'Everyone has a right to my opinion'.

I am beginning to think that the Partit Laburista is turning into my mother. Here's a little off the cuff tally.

Games Julia plays

The winter before last, "il-gurnalista indipendenti" Julia Farrugia spent three days acting like an idiot on a low-grade reality show on Comino.

To raise funds for l-Istrina? Nah. It was to raise funds for Super One TV, her party's station . But obviously, she still calls herself independent as she does around 3min 50 secs of this video.

Raymond Caruana's murder and Julia's family?

Julia Farrugia and her legal sidekick Toni Abela, the PL deputy leader, are alleging that I committed an act of "character assassination" on her by writing the following two sentences on this blog:

"Maybe for an encore Julia Farrugia will now show us a video in which Raymond Caruana is being shot twice in the PN's Gudja club ... Julia Farrugia should try to find videos or photos of the murder of Raymond Caruana. She might recognise someone she knows".

I am Lou Bondin

This is the front page of today's l-orizzont, which is effectively the Partit Laburista's daily paper.

If you click on the image you'll see that my last name is misspelled in the heading's sub (or super) title. 

I am Lou Bondin.

At first I thought that it's just an innocent typo. But no, that is how l-orizzont insists on spelling my name throughout.

So what is going on here?

I'm so incited

Not quite. Just inciting people to read DCG

"Sahansitra incita lill-qarrejja ta' dan il-blog biex jidhlu fis-sit elettroniku ta' Daphne Caruana Galizia ..."  

This is another 'accusation' which Julia Farrugia and her sidekick, Toni Abela the PL deputy leader, wish to level against me in front of the Institute of Maltese Journalists' Ethics Commission.

Is he still there?

More evidence of Alfred Sant's unwillingness to play ball. 

The Times

Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 21:30

Sant again warns that bailout deals must be ratified by Parliament

Damn, I missed one

During the infamous edition of Inkontri featuring angry, decrepit has-beens and hysterical crackpots, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando told what was probably the juiciest lie. 

Given that the programme was a thriving trade fair of lies, slanderous and false statements, as I have already shown, this is saying something.

One billion. Minus ... and plus

Between the early 1970s when prime minister Dom Mintoff nationalised the Malta Drydocks until a couple of years ago when they were shut down and privatised, this 'enterprise' lost €1 billion.That's €1000,000,000 of your and your parents' money down the tube.

No, I won't go to the Caribbean with you Julia

What were you thinking? Of course Julia Farrugia did not invite me to go to the Caribbean with her. 

But I do feel as if she wants to take me for a spin on Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Allow me explain.

Julia reached for the red bathing suit again

Last night I heard Julia Farrugia, the Illum editor, expressing reservations about the publication of the Joseph Muscat & Sabrina Agius emails. Their content, she said, did not seem to her to be "in the public interest". 

At first I thought that I misheard. So I called a couple of people to verify. I had heard right. 

Setting the record straight. Finally.

Below is the right of reply that the Partit Laburista was constrained to air in its entirety on Inkontri this evening. 

L-isfregju kontra l-ligi tax-xandir, il-bilanc u l-imparzjalita f’din l-edizzjoni ta’ Inkontri kien rizultat ta’ fatt baziku. Bondi+ u jien gejna diskussi kwazi l-hin kollu, anki fl-intervisti irrekordjati, minghajr ma jien kont prezenti.

Joe had to do what I told him. Because it's the law.

It's none of your business, Joe

Joe Grima is trying to make a big issue about the fact that I sent a couple of smes to Peppi during last Monday's Inkontri. He is making it sound as if this was a dark sign  of ... errrr what exactly? I cannot, for the life of me figure it out.

Here's what he wrote:

Really liberal. Really moderate.

I wrote to the Partit Laburista asking for a right of reply to last Monday's Inkontri in which I was slandered and lied about throughout the entire programme.

Not only had I not been invited to Inkontri to defend myself but Joe Grima turned down 13 requests to call me during the programme to give me a chance to respond.

Hawwadni ha nifhmek

Joe Grima, the illustrious presenter of Inkontri, wrote that with an "elexion (sic) coming" Peppi Azzopardi's and my time "is up".

This is exactly the same point of view which has been expressed by Jason Micallef last week.

The three (not) blind mice

Not blind, not deaf ... just silent

On Tuesday I put up a post which included the following statement.

"This is clear and irrefutable evidence of collusion between Malta Today, the Labour Party and John Dalli."

Mooorrre?

Harry Secombe, in "Oliver"

The Forum Zghazagh Laburista has just adopted the following motion on student stipends. 

Stqarrija21 ta’ Ottubru 2011

Maħruġa mill-Forum Żgħażagħ Laburisti

"Il-Forum Żgħażagħ Laburisti jemmen li l-istipendju għandu jiġi aġġornat biex jirrifletti l-bżonnijiet reali tal-istudenti llum. Dan hekk kif minkejja li mill-aħħar darba li kien aġġustat l-istipendju, il-ħajja baqgħet togħla, l-istudenti baqgħu jirċievu l-istess ammont ta’ stipendju fix-xahar. Dan wassal biex sena wara sena, il-valur tal-istipendju baqa’ dejjem jitnaqqar."

Krista's back for more

Krista, right: JPO's angel

Readers of this blog might remember Krista Caruana's last appearance here. She's back. Here's another cute question she just sent me. 

My answers are in English.

Sur Bondi,

Xtaqt nistaqsik din id-domanda: With pleasure, Krista.

RSVP - Hmieg

Yesterday's Bondi+ on Gaddafi's demise was a truly on the fly affair. It was put together in hours and as the credits rolled up everyone collapsed in a heap.

I know it sounds perverse but we love it. Doing journalism when history is being made makes all the hard work you put in and nastiness you have to put up with worthwhile.

It's official: Vote Labour and he goes

Now it is official.  

Jason Micallef, the former secretary general of the Partit Laburista, has made the following declaration in today's l-orizzont.

" ... wasal iz-zmien li ma' nibqghux induru aktar mal-lewza u se nkun jien li nghidha bla problemi ta' xejn. 

Owen makes a very good point

Owen Bonnici, Partit Laburista

At a University debate on gay rights, Owen Bonnici, a Labour MP, spoke on same-sex couples their right to adopt children. 

"What worries me is that society could end up rebelling against adopted children whose parents are homosexual ... I feel there needs to be more discussion and more dissemination of information for people to form an opinion. We need to fill the vacuum with a debate."

Who's your daddy?

This is a very interesting court human rights sentence with wide-ranging implications on the insistution of marriage.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Court of Human Rights finds Malta discriminated against Briton

Earth calling Malta, come in Malta

For those who are interested in how Hilary Clinton's meeting with Lawrence Gonzi was reported in the world press, here's some clicking you might be interested in.

http://www.france24.com/en/20111018-clinton-malta-talks-with-pm-over-libya

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/18/world/africa/malta-libya-clinton/index.html

What exactly are you on about, Luciano?

Luciano Busuttil: excuse me?

Luciano Busuttil, the PL's spokesperson on EU Affairs, posted the following facebook message:

"L-inkoerenza tal-politika Ewropea tal-Gvern ta’ Lawrence Gonzi harget fid-deher nhar it-Tnejn meta l-Prim Ministru baqa cass minghajr ma tniffes quddiem dikjarazzjoni tal-Kummissarju Ewropew Johannes Hahn li Malta se ddahhal anqas fondi mill-Unjoni Ewropea ghaliex mhux se tkun qed tikkwalifika ghall-istatus ta’ Objective 1."

Bingo! MT is part of the Partit Laburista

You're going to love this. 

Malta Today uploaded a story about yesterday's Inkontri on Super One TV. Actually it was more like a catwalk of hysterical has beens and crackpots than a discussion programme. 

What a night!

Last night was special.

As all Malta went home and settled down after a day's work or a day of study, something extraordinary took place.

As the day came to an end and night fell, a bit of history was in the making.

Let's look at all the facts, shall we?

A lot has been written and done about my short interview on Josef Bonello's late night chat show Bejnek u Bejni. 

I did not expect that declaring my loss of religious faith and confessing that Joseph Muscat has to work harder to convince me to vote Labour would cause such a stir.

Are you sure it's about Greece, Prime minister?

The lone Thalassini church in Greece: a Santian symbol

Yesterday Lawrence Gonzi berated Joseph Muscat for eroding Malta's European credibility by delaying the parliamentary vote over the Greek bailout. The reason for the delay has been Alfred Sant's incessant stalling. If there was any doubt that the former Labour leader is still against Malta's membership in the EU and the Eurozone, the last ten days removed it.

Calling gays beasts is ok, being an atheist is not

Imam El Sadi: ok for Labour, I'm not

Yesterday, a PL press release said that Joseph Muscat said the following:

"Semma l-kritika li qala’ l-Partit Laburista għall-attivita’ li organizza flimkien mal-Komunita’ Musulmana fi tmiem ir-Ramadan. Saħaq li, li tkun Nisrani jfisser li tkun komdu tgħix ma’ ħaddieħor anke jekk it-twemmin huwa differenti."

Frame this, Saviour & Roger

Saviour Balzan & Roger de Giorgio: Content is king

Today's Sunday Times editorial is the best factual analysis of how Saviour Balzan and Roger de Giorgio's Malta Today operates. As I have been saying all along, MT is not a newspaper but a public vehicle for private envy. Below is the bulk of the editorial.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Maltatoday and the truth

"Maltatoday attempts to present itself as an independent newspaper and its managing editor would like people to believe he is an unadulterated bona fide journalist on a quest for truth and justice.
Yet are his actions consistent with his words?

Eddie Fenech Adami killed 45 million people

Eddie Fenech Adami?

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has hit rock bottom. And to say so only days after his huddle with Saviour Balzan and Wenzu Mintoff is saying a lot.

On Bondi+ last week, Eddie Fenech Adami criticised JPO for presenting his divorce private member's bill behind the backs of his leader and parliamentary colleagues, particularly on such a controversial matter.

Since he was elected on the PN ticket, Fenech Adami said in typically subdued tones, JPO could not act as if party discipline is non-existent. To make his point as gently as possible, the former PN leader even drew inverted commas in the air when he uttered the word 'discipline'.

Fenech Adami, of course, is spot on. As I had pointed out in a Sunday Times article months before the divorce referendum vote, this is not a matter of being for or against divorce, but of being for internal party democracy and against anarchy.

JPO's response to Fenech Adami's simple point was to rush to his facebook wall and equate the man who took us from Tal-Barrani to Brussels with Mao Tse-Tung, the communist dictator with the blood of 45 million Chinese people on his hands. Quoting from Mao's dreaded 'Little Red Book' on party discipline, the Nationalist dentist asks whether "it sounds familiar". 

The PN certainly does have at least one fucking wanker in parliament.

Some independent thinking

"The quickest way to turn someone against you and your line of thought is, and always will be, trying to tell people what to think, or berating anyone for their own personal life choices.

"... a political party which has branded itself as being progressive and liberal has attacked Lou Bondi through its Sunday newspaper Kulħadd and through its deputy leader for party affairs Toni Abela, on the radio.

Atheists speak

The Malta Humanist Association made a public declaration on Toni 'Savonarola' Abela's attack on my atheism.

They also slagged his attempt to derail a libel case I instituted against his client, Wenzu Mintoff, because I kissed the crucifx.

Forget Bill, Kill Peppi

Cartoon which appeared with the article

The Labour daily, l-orizzont ran a double-page spread penned by Joe Fava, a self-declared Partit Laburista activist and who constantly refers to Joseph Muscat as il-leader taghna.

The following are the words he used to describe Peppi Azzopardi. I am leaving them untranslated on purpose.

Peppi huwa ...

Toni Abela starts to backtrack. But I won't let him.

In today's l-orizzont, Toni Abela, the PL deputy leader, is quoted as saying that he was always "favur id-dritt fundamentali tal-qima u kuxjenza u alla hares ikun hawn min b'xi mod jiddiskrimina jew jiccensura lil xi persuna minhabba t-twemmin taghhom."

That is not true.

Atheists with a par idejn sodi

I just got to know a hilarious fact about the Malta Humanist Association, an organisation of atheists and agnostics.

They held a meeting to discuss whether they should condemn the PL's fundamentalist attack against me after I declared that I'm a non-believer.

The Maltese Truman Show

When I was asked whether I believed in god I had a choice. To either tell the truth or to lie. The same choice was availablem when I was asked whether Joseph Muscat has so far convinced me to vote for him. 

In both cases,I chose to tell the truth.

Now lying would have delivered more bountiful benefits if these are measured by the yardstick of keeping up appearances in a small, densely populated, Mediterranean island state.

Fucking wankers and free speech

Joseph Muscat: free and unfree speech

On Sunday, Joseph Muscat glorified Nicola Abela Garrett, a 20-year old who had called minister Austin Gatt a fucking wanker and wrote "f'Oxx ommu" (her spelling) about him on her facebook wall. Here is what Muscat said.

"Ghax tfajla qalet dak li tahseb saret kampanja sistematika ta’ assassinju tal-karattru. Ghalija ... anke jekk tigi quddiemi u tghidli li ma taqbel f’xejn mieghi, zgur li qatt mhu se nsikkitu jew insikkitha jew nitlob lil xi hadd jiehu d-dettalji. Dan huwa theddid tal-libertà tal-espressjoni li suppost ilna li hallejna warajna ... Ahna ma rridux inpoggu sarima ma’ halq in-nies bhal mhu qed jaghmel haddiehor, imma rridu naghtu l-opportunita li nimxu ‘il quddiem u kulhadd jitkellem kif ihoss."

Et tu, Ralph

And now it is Alternattiva Demokratika's turn to jump on the let's-bash-Where's-Everybody bandwagon. 

Ralph Cassar, a prominent AD politician, wrote the following on Andrew Azzopardi's blog about Peppi Azzopardi:

"You have to be in denial not to admit the inherent bias in TVM ‘discussion’ programmes, irrespective of what the PL says."

'Joseph, Manwel is very worried.' Fr Mark

Fr Mark Montebello

Fr Mark Montebello, the man who gave the speech at the PL's commemoration of the setting up of Manwel Dimech's Xirka tal-Imdawlin centenary has sent in the following comment on a previous post.

The post was about the contradiction between the PL celebrating Manwel Dimech and at the same time calling for my public shaming because after years of reflection I said that I no longer believe in god.

Scoop: Toni Abela, your liberal and progressive Inquisitor

Inquisitor Toni Abela

I have been shaking my head and giggling all the way from the law courts to my office in G'Mangia. 

In a court case which has dragged on for six years, Toni Abela, the PL leader appearing as a lawyer for the other side, asked the magistrate to give a ruling on my public declaration of atheism. His point was that since I swore on the crucifux, all my testimony is now called into question.

"Lou, you have a right to my opinion.' Joseph Muscat

During the divorce referendum campaign, I publicly declared that I was going to vote in favour. I did it not only in The Times but on Bondiplus. 

Indeed, when Joseph Muscat came on the programme he invited me to lock arms and campaign with him on the streets.

Did you tell this to Manwel?

Manwel Dimech

The Partit Laburista celebrated the centenary of Manwel Dimech's setting up of the Xirka tal-Imdawlin by his statue.

The PL press release says: "Minħabba t-twaqqif tax-Xirka, Dimech kien ġie skomunikat għal sena sħiħa, imbagħad deportat minn Malta. Huwa miet eżiljat fl-Eġittu." 

Let me see if I get this straight.