A civil society movement set up in the wake of the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia buys space on 3 billboards that carried adverts for beer and holiday offers before. That event would have been a matter of moderate interest in the local media and stopped there. The government strikes down the billboards within 12 [...]
David Casa walked out of the court building this morning relatively unscathed. He’s not wearing the handcuffs Manuel Mallia believes he deserves. Yet. People wonder how nothing sticks to Joseph Muscat. It’s because he uses henchmen to deliver the biting quotes and scandalous actions. He got a Valletta councillor to try to destroy the Republic [...]
The classic Abwehrmechanismen to rationalise international criticism of Malta's kleptocracy is that "our foreign critics envy us". Who doesn't want Joseph Muscat as their prime minister if what you get in the package is sustained economic growth, low taxes and a budget surplus? It looks like a good deal but scratch the surface and imitating Malta [...]
Statement by #occupyjustice: A day after billboards put up by #occupyjustice were pulled down by the authorities, the activists rallied in front of Castille with banners of the same messages and lay them at the Prime Minister’s doorstep. “Prime Minister if you think you are going to silence us by pulling down our billboards, or [...]
Here's a tweet by Bill Browder. He knows oppression when he sees it. He was tried and convicted in absentia in Russia and sentenced to a decade in prison. Interpol refused Russia's request to drag him there as it deemed him a political refugee. Maltese authorities remove billboards calling for justice for the murder of [...]
Here are two comments from two different people about how the Republic Street memorial calling for justice elicits responses that do not make it to Super 1's angry reports on 'provocations'. Know that the people do care . Yesterday I was in Valletta with a group of ladies, celebrating a friend's birthday. None of the [...]
Ground-breaking journalism from the folks at Labour HQ. Owen Bonnici and Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi look for and find a photo-op to persuade the world they’re not feuding. They found an event where they were not likely to quarrel. I didn’t realise these Clockwork Orange intrusions into the bedrooms of centenarian bed-ridden ladies were still a [...]
From my piece on The Sunday Times today: "A man who introduced himself as a prospective candidate to the mayorship of Valletta said he “did not altogether agree with Daphne’s killing” but a memorial of flowers in Valletta was offensive to his constituents. "Another man pretended to squeal in agony because one of Daphne’ sisters [...]
There are mixed reactions to the current controversy over the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial in Republic Street. Some of those who supported her in life and wish for nothing better than for justice to be dispensed after her killing are not entirely sure the whole flowers and candles debate is worthwhile. After all if the [...]
Labour is not certain how to manage the persistent civil society pressure that four months after Daphne Caruana Galizia's killing is still very much there. Protests rarely last this long in Malta and the government's reliance on collective amnesia is not working this time round. It looks like they're having to improvise as they go [...]
https://youtu.be/sWLV9Vu3s4g Civil Society's comments tonight on Mintoff's picture at the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial in Valletta: We understand why someone would want to put pictures of Raymond Caruana and Karin Grech on a popular memorial and protest site demanding justice and an end to impunity. Mintoff died in his sleep of natural causes. No one [...]
This is how Labour justify themselves. They throw contradictions in the mix, confusing issues and throwing people into forced reserved neutrality. I saw them do it to a smart man a few weeks ago. Owen Bonnici tried to drown Antonio di Pietro in a sea of dubious facts, half-truths and lies which the man had [...]
And inevitably someone brings pictures of Karin Grech and Raymond Caruana to the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial in Republic Street. I see the point of those who did that of course. The two cases demand justice. Unlike Daphne Caruana Galizia, neither one of them was specifically targeted. But this is not a pantheon to rank [...]
https://youtu.be/Jit3YhGx5pU
#Occupyjustice statement: In the Oscar-nominated movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, an anguished mother seeks justice for her murdered daughter. After months pass without the culprit being caught, the mother makes a bold move, and puts up three billboards on a main motorway, with pointed messages directed at the town’s revered Chief of Police. In [...]
By someone known to me: It is difficult to describe the four months since Daphne’s assassination. I knew her and am privileged to have done so. I did not know her well. She was not a friend, more of an acquaintance. Our paths crossed fleetingly several times - none had anything to do with politics [...]
The President must be having an uncomfortable afternoon. Reading the testimony given by her predecessor in court today in the proceedings against the organisers of the 2015 charity car show event when a driver mowed down viewers in a horrible accident she must feel the cold knife in the small of her back. George Abela [...]
Agimeg is a specialised Italian news agency interested in the gaming industry. They asked me some questions in view of the recent sparks between Malta and Italy about the use of Malta by mafiosi to launder their money here. Here's the interview. There will be the usual hackles accusing me of treason. The zombie troll [...]
Last boxing day, Steward Health Group announced on its Facebook page it had purchased the concession of three hospitals in Malta. Its regular readers were none too pleased. The general message was they were not too happy with the service they were getting and they were not expecting things to get better now their hospital [...]
