‘Malta's hard-earned neutrality, which is a bedrock of our Constitution, was conceived first and foremost for dark times like these.’ These words can be found in an open letter sent to the Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister in response to reports that Malta may be participating in the EU Naval Operation in the Red [...]

Photo: REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi I am not a lawyer. I do have academic qualifications in maritime law. I am a published author on the subject and I lecture both locally and overseas. Now that’s out of the way, let’s tell some truths. I have no idea what happened aboard the El Hiblu in [...]

So the Court of Appeals has pronounced itself on the Vitals/Steward Case, finding that, as everybody with half a brain cell knew, the whole deal was based on fraud. The ruling went further than that of the lower court, finding evidence of active collusion on the part of the Government officials involved. In addition, the [...]

Man the ramparts, light the beacons, dust off the uniforms and beat our ploughshares back into swords. Malta is under attack! Or so our exalted Film Commissioner Johann Grech would have us believe. His reasoning is based on the fact that taxpayers are objecting to how their money is being spent to support the production [...]

There are those who have alleged that our Prime Minister was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. What he definitely has in his mouth is his foot. ‘I have no right to try and condition or interfere with the ongoing investigative process’ were his words quoted by a local newspaper in reference to [...]

(Apologies to Nicholas Cage) I don’t purport to be Greek, like one of our politicians. I don’t pretend to be British even though I am a British citizen by virtue of having been born in the UK. Wherever I go and whoever I deal with, I identify myself as Maltese. How could I do otherwise? [...]

The title is plagiarised. ‘The March of Folly’ is a book by the American historian Barbara Tuchman. It examines how historical governments and administrations insisted on pursuing policies that were clearly contrary to their self-interest. The leaders of Troy; the Renaissance Popes whose ostentatiousness led to the Protestant Schism and Reformation; British policy in the [...]

‘Lil din l-art ħelwa, l-Omm li tatna isimha’ the first line of L-Innu Malti ‘Patriot - a person who loves their country and who is ready to defend it against an enemy’ Oxford Advanced Learner’s Online Dictionary I would hesitate to define myself as a patriot. Unfortunately, in recent years the term has become [...]

It will come as a little surprise to anyone who knows me that one of my favourite films is ‘A Few Good Men’. Set within the military justice system of the US Navy and US Marine Corps, it pits Tom Cruise’s Lieutenant (JG) Kaffee against the granite-faced Colonel Jessup, played by Jack Nicholson. It reaches [...]

Full disclosure. I am a retired Armed Forces of Malta officer who trained and worked with the Italian, French, German, U.K. and U.S. armed forces among others throughout my career. I think that the neutrality ‘enshrined’ in Malta’s constitution is a sham, an accident of history rather than a calculated strategic posture. Before becoming neutral, [...]