Not Mr Transparency

By
2020-11-17T18:30:17+01:00Tue, 17th Nov '20, 18:30|

Robert Abela has been telling MPs they should comply with the code of ethics and declare their assets. Government ministers are expected to publish yearly returns. The process is not what you might call thorough and the fact alone that they don’t need to include assets belonging to their spouses makes it a bit of [...]

GUEST POST: Atlas shrugged

By
2020-11-17T17:13:21+01:00Tue, 17th Nov '20, 17:13|

Robert Abela and his underlings have in recent days had multiple orgasms cutting ribbons and inaugurating unfinished roads, bridges and other infrastructural projects. Basically, this is how it works. The prime minister, accompanied by ministers, parliamentary secretaries and various chairpersons who were in some way or another peripherally involved in the project meet on site. [...]

Repubblika brands government’s mixed messages on Covid “crazy” and “irresponsible”

By
2020-11-17T16:58:53+01:00Tue, 17th Nov '20, 16:58|

Repubblika organised a symbolic protest in Castille Square today marking the 100th victim of the covid pandemic and criticising government policy on the subject. "Doctors with the courage to speak up say that Robert Abela's government's inconsistent policies are leading to more deaths," the NGO said. A hundred empty chairs were decked out recalling each [...]

Maria Efimova says her husband has been released without charge

By
2020-11-17T17:01:57+01:00Tue, 17th Nov '20, 16:43|

Maria Efimova announced earlier this afternoon that her husband, detained since yesterday by the police in Greece, has since been released without charge. Speaking to this website, Maria Efimova said the Greek prosecution service agreed that Cyprus's request for her husband's extradition had no legal basis. Cyprus asked for Pantelis Varnava's extradition the first time [...]

NGOs call for European action against SLAPP

By
2020-11-17T17:06:56+01:00Tue, 17th Nov '20, 07:58|

First published by Euractiv One hot spring afternoon in Malta, a journalist drove up to her house to find a court marshall duct-taping hundreds of sheets of paper to her front gate. Her family’s two guard dogs were barking uncontrollably and snapped at the marshall through the bars of the gate, but he was determined. [...]

Plus ça change

By
2020-11-16T16:33:48+01:00Mon, 16th Nov '20, 16:33|

#occupyjustice said it was informed protest banners it put up yesterday are already being removed. This was standard practice during Joseph Muscat's administration that had a zero-tolerance policy on banners or posters that suggested the government was less than immaculate. Here's #occupyjustice's statement from a few minutes ago: ONE YEAR ON FROM START OF MASS [...]

Follow my rules

By
2020-11-16T16:12:46+01:00Mon, 16th Nov '20, 16:05|

Robert Abela thinks MPs should comply with their code of ethics and declare the gifts they get.  He was giving Malta Today the quote as if they needed a reason to repeat the story on their sister newspaper Illum which on Sunday reported that Jason Azzopardi did not get a bill for using the gym [...]

Freedom of the City

By
2020-11-16T13:22:28+01:00Mon, 16th Nov '20, 13:22|

In the iron curtain hyperbole of Mintoff’s time, the space cleared in the 1960s just inside of Valletta’s landward gate, was named “Misraħ il-Ħelsien” or ‘Freedom Square’. That space, a grotty carpark just in the front hall of the town, was replaced with Renzo Piano’s parliament building. The architect said at the time that his [...]

GUEST POST: The inauguration of a partly completed 800 metre road and the Vice-President of the European Parliament

By
2020-11-16T08:24:20+01:00Mon, 16th Nov '20, 08:24|

Robert Abela got to know that Bernard Grech was going to be in Gozo last Thursday. He has spies everywhere. He was not to be outfoxed. He gathered his communications staff (about 81) and ordered them to prepare a public relations event for the same day. Telephones buzzed to all ministries to see if there [...]

#occupyjustice with messages to government one year after mass protests started

By
2020-11-16T13:59:11+01:00Mon, 16th Nov '20, 08:07|

Statement by #occupyjustice: One year ago, we all took to the streets in mass protests and forced Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi, and Keith Schembri to resign. Since then we have witnessed the forced resignation of former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar and the retirement of disgraced former Attorney General Peter Grech. And yet, one year on [...]

GUEST POST: With hindsight

By
2020-11-13T09:57:33+01:00Fri, 13th Nov '20, 09:57|

Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been.” - Kurt Vonnegut One of the buzzwords frequently used by Labour ministers, prime or otherwise, officials and trolls is ‘with hindsight.’ It’s the magical word that they think can absolve them of their blunders and make them as clean as [...]

PODCAST: Second prize, you’re fired.

By
2020-11-12T11:32:06+01:00Thu, 12th Nov '20, 11:32|

Manuel Delia · Second Prize, You're Fired Leviticus 5:17 warns you that it’s no excuse to say that you weren’t aware the Lord has proclaimed some action a sin. If you do it, you’ve sinned and must suffer the consequences. The succinct maxim is that ignorance of the law excuses no one. Okay, but that [...]

GUEST POST: Dysfunctional Representative Democracy

By
2020-11-12T09:06:51+01:00Thu, 12th Nov '20, 09:06|

Malta is experiencing a dysfunctional representative democracy. It started, unintentionally, prior to 2013. A Partit Laburista in government has institutionalised this faltering political system during the last seven years. It was its clandestine roadmap to gain power, expediting more wealth to the wealthy elites irrespective of costs and illegalities and coercing citizens to the bondage [...]

In or out?

By
2020-11-11T15:23:18+01:00Wed, 11th Nov '20, 15:23|

The state continues to persecute the witnesses instead of the perpetrators. Jonathan Ferris and Maria Efimova were today charged with perjury for providing information to the Egrant inquiry that the magistrate at the time was unable to check out. I’m not going to make the case for their defence. We can hear that from their [...]

Go to Top