Now its Carmen's turn

Carmen Sammut seeing red

A few posts back I mused on a possible link between the late onset of hot temperatures this summer and the silly season in the media. As the scorching heat arrived late, the silly season tiptoed behind it.

Now it is Carmen Sammut's turn to give the theory a bit more credence. 

She has just resigned from the Press Ethics Commission because Julia Farrugia, the editor of Illum, was found guilty of violating practically every rule in the journalist's handbook. I know for a fact that Sammut also took Farrugia's side during the Commission's proceedings.

President Obama, please send a better one

“Over my tenure, I found the men and women in the PL as well as the PN uniformly capable, intelligent and responsive.

... I would personally find it difficult to choose among the wealth of talent presented to you. You don’t need a former American Ambassador to tell you of your blessings in the leadership department, but trust me, you are."

An update on the green rexin sofa

Imagine this but in shiny rexin

In a previous post (click: Have you tried it on a rexin sofa, Jeffrey?) I reported on Eddie Fenech Adami's green rexin sofa and armchair suite still gracing the living room of his Bugibba home.

Apart from a typing error - I meant to write that it looked to me like it was made in the late 1960s not 1970s - I am now happy to pass on an update which puts matters in an even more telling perspective.

Rockestra: the warm facts

Mikaela and Xirka Rock Band in flight

Let us start with a simple cold fact. Hitting almost 10,000, Rockestra 2011 attracted the largest concert audience this season, including those by foreign artists. It is true, the low ticket prices helped but on its own this does not explain the fantastic turnout.

The truth is that people of all ages and from all walks of life love Rockestra. May they continue to do so for as long as screaming rock guitar solos quicken heartbeats and make souls soar higher. Which is forever.

Now to the simple warm facts, or should I say hot ones. Conductor Sigmund Mifsud and his orchestra had the audience in the palm of their hand from the first number and they didn't let go till the encore, a rowdy, rip roaring version of 'Hey Jude'. Sigmund, yesterday you certainly got my vote.

Have you tried it on a rexin sofa, Jeffrey?

This week I had a meeting with Eddie Fenech Adami at his Bugibba home. As we discussed things with two of his grandchildren popping in on us through the door and window (literally), one thing struck me again. How humbly he lives.

The man who saved this country from collapse in 1987, proceeded to change it from night to day and then gave it its EU membership card, sat us down on suite made out of green rexin adorned with buttons made out of the same material, circa late 1970s. The fan struggling to keep us cool looked like it came from the same era as well.

JPO discovers Christ

Now, I'm losing my religion

"It is only the bitter, the bored and cowards who are cruel. Historically true heroes have always been associated with humanity and compassion."

This is a post that Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has just put up on facebook, accompanied by this portrayal of Jesus Christ.

Good Golly Miss Molly

Through Wikileaks we just learned that in 2008 Molly Bordanaro, the US ambassador to Malta, wrote to her government about the prospect of Labour being elected and Alfred Sant becoming prime minister.

"Labor's Sant," her Excellency reported, "can be erratic in his decision-making ... "

To many Maltese ears, calling a prospective prime minister's ways 'erratic' barely registers as criticism. Weaned on a culture in which everything is either black or white and every view is expressed in absolute terms, the nuances and hidden codes of diplomatic speak fly below our radar.

OMG, the silly season is here

Engelbert Humperdinck anyone?

I am beginning to suspect that there really is a relationship between the weather and the onset of the silly season.

As the July and early August high temperatures refused to come on, we continued to have pretty substantial stuff in the public domain to chew on.

The Arriva debacle, Cyrus Engerer's defection, Air Malta's pilots' threat to flush the tourist season down the toilet, the divorce contortions in parliament, sexual abuse by priests - they all popped up as the temperatures refused to rise.

Now as the mercury is rising to the levels it should have been at three weeks ago, the silly season is finally with us.

Not journalism, not politics, just hatred

Flitting around Mater Dei this morning I felt like a male version of Florence Nightingale. It started with Rachel having a very minor intervention - she's fine, so don't take up Where's Everybody company time with good wishes. Then we visited a friend’s wife who had an accident.

Finally we popped over to visit minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici. He has been in and out of hospital for three weeks and will undergo a delicate operation in the coming days. As we queued up to see him we chatted with Police Commissioner John Rizzo and President George Abela, both there for the same purpose.

So when I arrived at the office and caught sight of l-orizzont's headlines - click here: Beppe għal flok Carm? - I had to sit down and read it.

You should do the same. It is an eye opener.

No for Gonzi you say?

'Houston, we have a problem'

The 'No For Gonzi' facebook group dishes out the same boring recipe of hate-speech, hysteria and ignorance served up in almost incomprehensible English and Maltese.

Their adulation for Joseph Muscat would probably make even him blush with embarrassment.

On 27 August at 16:52, for instance, they put up this gem "ejjeww HUTI MALTIN naghmlhu il page tal messiah BIGGER .. together we can !" There's more, much more. Just dip in and take a look.

Alas, there is a slight problem. The pathological illiteracy of this group's creators led them to call themselves almost the opposite of what they wanted to be known for.