Since I'm not likely to win an olympic medal, here's another self-referential ironic award from earlier this year. This is President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan who eats journalists for breakfast being awarded a 'Friends of Journalists' award by some puppet functionary he controls. And as he gets it he smiles not because he does not [...]
We find out Michelle Muscat went to the Bahamas from the Facebook profile of a Trinidad and Tobago opposition politician who met her at a dinner party. The 'Women of Distinction Awards' are granted yearly by a Bahamian NGO. It doesn't look like Michelle Muscat could secure this award for herself because it appears to [...]
This morning's post about Michelle Muscat being awarded the volunteer of the year award found people saying in their reactions that Michelle Muscat should have the good manners of expressing polite embarrassment at the award, decline it and suggest someone less well known but at least equally deserving is recognised for their work. After all [...]
Martin Scicluna's piece in The Times today is perfectly in character. As a health warning let me prepare you with this quote: "The principal reason for the PN’s debacle must be laid at her (Daphne Caruana Galizia's) door and a party leadership that was committed to dancing to her tune." Truly a man who has [...]
Michelle Muscat is the volunteer of the year. She was awarded the title by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector. Yet another Peronist event in this Evita story of pursuit of adulation; of packaging the proletarian heroine royally bedecked behind the great leader. And sure enough the great leader was bursting with pride on [...]
OK so they were arraigned in court, accused of murder. We will see evidence over the next few days that will justify their trial a few years down the line. We can expect that trial to confirm our initial impression that the police are reasonably confident in the evidence that they have. It turned out [...]
Should a Minister resign if one of his canvassers is indicted for a felony? Should a Minister resign if one of his canvassers is indicted for a felony specifically connected with his job? Should a Minister resign if his main canvasser is indicted for a felony specifically connected with his job? Should a Minister resign [...]
Here's the second edition of Tales from the land of serenity. Written by Lizzie Eldridge. Podcast read and produced by Pia Zammit. The exquisite image is by Seb Tanti Burlo. https://youtu.be/9_wMt7LvPqQ
Here's Adrian Hillman of the Panama Gang being an academic and asking on Twitter "why don't people trust the news?" Perhaps because people know of him, who when running the newspaper of record in Malta and trusted to be independent of hidden influences, received 650,000 euro from Keith Schembri? Is there the possibility that might [...]
As we wait for the police to arraign the people they suspect have killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, there is plenty of scepticsm around. Obviously the only assessment that counts is a conviction, confirmed on appeal if any. That will take years. But with the courts we will see the evidence and hope for justice. We [...]
The wife of George de Giorgio, arrested yesterday on suspicion of being a part of Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination went to the offices of state broadcaster PBS yesterday night to loudly complain her husband was named in connection with the homicide. The incident happened around 21:45. Employees on duty tried to calm the woman down [...]
By resident guest George Farrugia Calleja: As soon as last Sunday’s CSN event ended, and probably even before, Joseph Muscat’s paid and unpaid trolls and assorted idiots were posting triumphantly that the relatively small crowd was evidence of how awesome Muscat was. At the same time MEP Marlene Mizzi’s daughter was bitching on-line that demonstrations such [...]
We still need to learn who was arrested and which part each one of them played in the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. We still need to learn if the police feel confident enough to arraign some or all of them. We still need to learn what else they are suspected of and what they'll [...]
In an exclusive report Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the Maltese police and "a court expert" have been briefed in detail by German criminal investigators from the specialist unit named "Olet", Latin for "something stinks". They were also handed around 800 files of information procured by German investigators. The report expresses uncertainty the documentation handed over will [...]
Minister Konrad Mizzi reiterated his case that the Panama revelations have no bearing because "no transactions were ever made, and no money was ever received by the trust and underlying company." I had the benefit of the company of someone who investigated over 5,000 cases of people suspected (many of them prosecuted and convicted) for [...]
This statement was sent earlier by Daphne Caruana Galizia's family: The manner in which today’s arrests were communicated to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family indicates serious institutional deficiencies which are cause for general public concern. The information about the arrests was communicated by the Prime Minister, and not by the Malta Police, who appear to prioritise [...]
The head of the government's customer care office proclaimed on Facebook that anyone from civil society making speeches yesterday should delete them. He hash-tags me. Since I did not deliver a speech but transcribed and translated Antonio di Pietro's on my blog, he must mean that Antonio di Pietro's speech is an embarrassment to be [...]
The Labour Mayor of Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Sarah Agius, has tweeted her praise of the prime minister for the imminent arraignment of 10 people in connection with the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Chapeau to @MaltaPolice. 10 suspects to be arraigned in court. Full trust in the Maltese Institutions and my Prime Minister @JosephMuscat_JM — Sarah Agius [...]
Announcing the arrests of 8 -- later 10 -- Maltese citizens in connection with the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia, prime minister Joseph Muscat reminded his audience of a press conference Eddie Fenech Adami had given informing the press chief justice Noel Arrigo and judge Patrick Vella had been arrested for bribery. Joseph Muscat this [...]
There’s something suspiciously odd about Air Malta’s accounts. Its losses are supposed to have shot more than threefold from 4 million euro in March 2016 to 13 million euro in March 2017. The huge losses are being leaked when negotiations with some of the employee unions are nearing their crux point. Management want the airline’s [...]