State secrets

By
2018-09-25T18:03:37+02:00Tue, 25th Sep '18, 18:03|

The reports of Peter Grech testifying in Adrian Delia’s case against him for not giving him a full copy of the Egrant inquiry are like a dive in a boiling cauldron yet uncooled with a baboon’s blood. I know that with time I have grown impatient with Peter Grech’s obsequious squishiness. But today has been [...]

The Dark Tower

By
2018-09-25T16:51:45+02:00Tue, 25th Sep '18, 16:51|

One apartment in the newly permitted dB tower in St George’s Bay is being advertised for sale for €7.7 million euro. That’s about what most people would earn in around 300 years. Presumably this will be the most luxurious apartment in the whole block. The block will have 99 apartments. If another one like this [...]

John Vassallo: The enemy within (Part 2)

By
2018-09-25T10:57:43+02:00Tue, 25th Sep '18, 10:57|

This is a two-part series by guest author John Vassallo. The first part was published yesterday. The Enemy Within (2): Traitors in our midst Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher and adviser to Emperor Nero was the word of truth, integrity and reason in the court of absolute power of an irrational Emperor. He advised against [...]

Groundrules

By
2018-09-25T11:34:53+02:00Tue, 25th Sep '18, 10:09|

The oldest rhetorical secret weapon for those who run out of argument is trivialisation. Troll central dispatched the usual suspects to react to the constitutional application I filed yesterday saying the removal of the protest in Great Siege Square by state agency is a breach of the freedom of speech. The old canard that “a [...]

Russian-born “Maltese” runs Finnish company suspected of massive money laundering

By
2018-09-24T16:43:00+02:00Mon, 24th Sep '18, 16:43|

Finnish National Broadcaster YLE has identified a Maltese citizen born in Russia as the frontman for a company suspected of being involved in a massive money laundering operation worth close to 10 million euro in real estate transactions. The unnamed Maltese citizen, born in Russia in 1964, was made chairman of a Finnish real estate [...]

How negative is your reading?

By
2018-09-24T16:14:29+02:00Mon, 24th Sep '18, 16:14|

Charles Mercieca published a statistical review of articles appearing over the summer on four online media outlets and this website. It’s nice that he included this site with the big boys: Times of Malta, Malta Today, Newsbook and Lovin Malta. This website is a one man show so obviously my 300 English language articles on [...]

GUEST POST: The enemy within

By
2018-09-25T10:35:48+02:00Mon, 24th Sep '18, 13:59|

This is a two-part series by guest author John Vassallo. The second part will be published tomorrow. The Enemy Within (1): Traitors in our midst The recent law suits in the US against advisers, employees and supporters of Donald Trump give a lot of food for thought. This week’s book launch of “FEAR Trump in [...]

Terrifying

By
2018-09-24T09:46:45+02:00Mon, 24th Sep '18, 09:45|

This is the protest in front of the court of justice as it flickered last night.   The dangerous, polluting, offensive distracting protest was 'cleaned up' during the night. This is what Therese Comodini Cachia wrote on the subject in this morning's Times of Malta: "Is it so terrifying to our government, that a community [...]

Self-assessment

By
2018-09-23T14:11:36+02:00Sun, 23rd Sep '18, 14:11|

The prime minister ruling out an independent inquiry into what the state could have done to prevent the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia and to determine whether there is any responsibility by state actors in the occurrence is an abhorrent decision. It belies his claim that he would leave ‘no stone unturned’ to find out [...]

A review of the Egrant inquiry conclusions (Conclusion)

By
2018-09-23T13:45:21+02:00Sun, 23rd Sep '18, 13:45|

This is the concluding analysis in Godfrey Leone Ganado’s 10-part review of the findings of the Egrant inquiry: Background An analysis of 49 pages of the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry report containing around 1500 pages, which was published by the Attorney General, and a copy of which, he gave the Prime Minister probably not [...]

Constitutional claim to protect freedom of expression

By
2018-09-23T13:23:27+02:00Sun, 23rd Sep '18, 13:23|

This week I am filing a constitutional case against the government for what I argue is the breach of my fundamental right to free expression. The matter was covered this morning in The Sunday Times. Of course this is not about me, or just about me. Over 11 months thousands of people stepped up to [...]

We serve whites only

By
2018-09-23T13:18:43+02:00Sun, 23rd Sep '18, 13:17|

Malta Today’s story about a band club in Marsa banning black people is hard reading. The committee denies the policy exists though the journalist, Karl Azzopardi, does his own checking and confirms with the barman  racial profiling of visitors is indeed the order of the day. I don’t think this surprises anyone. Surely people realise [...]

Iris Rohmann: It feels like watching a bad play

By
2018-09-22T09:37:54+02:00Sat, 22nd Sep '18, 09:37|

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom continues to closely monitor developments, such as they are, here in Malta since Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed almost a year ago. Iris Rohmann has been coming to Malta regularly and she says "it feels like watching a bad play". I would add to that, watching a [...]

The lesson from Malta

By
2018-09-22T07:42:26+02:00Sat, 22nd Sep '18, 07:42|

The Economist magazine 1843 published a long story entitled 'Murder in Malta'. It's written by Athens based journalist Alexander Clapp and here's one paragraph you should read first: "The lesson from Malta is not that journalists can be killed in tranquil places. This has always been the case. But, as Nicholas Shaxson, author of 'Treasure [...]

Because you thought today was Independence Day

By
2018-09-21T12:03:43+02:00Fri, 21st Sep '18, 11:59|

It’s not a rhetorical question. What is ‘independence’ for you? Is it citizenship? Look at this British company selling Maltese citizenship to people who have never been here and never want to be. Who have never contributed to the wellbeing of this community and never mean to. Who have to look up Malta on the [...]

Partit Demokratiku also condemns censorship of protest memorial

By
2018-09-20T17:52:10+02:00Thu, 20th Sep '18, 17:52|

Partit Demokratiku issued this statement earlier today. Minister Owen Bonnici’s recent handling of the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial issue is further proof that the Labour party has metamorphosed from the broad church it portrays itself to be to an intolerant cult which stops at nothing when it comes to erasing uncomfortable reminders and activities to [...]

(Socialist, Green, Liberal and Popular) MEPs say the removal of the Daphne makeshift memorial is ‘unacceptable’

By
2018-09-20T17:10:12+02:00Thu, 20th Sep '18, 17:08|

Liberal Democract Sophie in t' Veld, Green Sven Giegold, Socialist Josef Weidenholzer, and Popular Party Roberta Metsola heard from activists how the government, by order of Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, has removed, repeatedly, mementoes left at a makeshift memorial set up when Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed. In remarks to the press today they called this [...]

Go to Top