The government should publish the Moneyval report

By
2019-07-24T13:50:42+02:00Wed, 24th Jul '19, 13:50|

Even if Edward Scicluna claims to disagree with any of it, it does not help anyone that the government keeps the report of the Council of Europe's committee of experts on the evaluation of anti-money laundering measures and the financing of terrorism (Moneyval) under wraps. The Moneyval process is in principle confidential. But Rule 29 [...]

GUEST POST: Of killing marigolds

By
2019-07-24T11:18:23+02:00Wed, 24th Jul '19, 11:18|

Sent in by Libertas: No matter how hopeful and optimistic, no matter up to what extent a party outsider affords party politicians the benefit of doubt, no matter an outsider’s determination to encourage reconciliation and dialogue amongst humans of a different mind, the historical event being held on the 27th July at the Stamperija is [...]

Does he really have the time to watch movies?

By
2019-07-24T08:54:35+02:00Wed, 24th Jul '19, 08:54|

The Government Gazette announced yesterday that the newly minted chief of government communications has been given a part-time job. Matthew Carbone, who one would expect is working 20 hour days, has been appointed to the Film Review Board which is set up by law to watch movies that another board has classified with an age [...]

He said. They said.

By
2019-07-24T12:06:22+02:00Wed, 24th Jul '19, 08:43|

Jean Claude Juncker enjoyed his day in the sun yesterday. He is nearing his retirement and looks like he has as much appetite for battle as a lottery winner. Clearly Joseph Muscat’s charms still work wonders on him and the easy ride our prime minister had with Juncker’s Commission was perfectly represented in that embrace. [...]

Isn’t it ironic?

By
2019-07-23T08:22:38+02:00Tue, 23rd Jul '19, 08:18|

Not quite like rain on your wedding day, but Louise Tedesco headlines her Times of Malta opinion piece today by branding critics of PN leader Adrian Delia as the 'Barra Brigade'. That phrase recalls the PN's campaign when the Panama Papers broke and it turned out that Malta would have the only politicians in the [...]

Lassana Cisse remembered

By
2019-07-23T07:33:18+02:00Tue, 23rd Jul '19, 07:33|

After Times of Malta reported yesterday that "vandals destroyed memorial to" Lassana Cisse, on the spot in Birżebuġġa where he was killed in a drive by shooting last April, some people went to fix that last night.

Beware hard decisions

By
2019-07-22T18:43:56+02:00Mon, 22nd Jul '19, 18:22|

The upcoming meeting of the PN’s General Council will not be good for the country. It will cement the differences in the Nationalist Party, confirm its inability to provide any Opposition, retain Adrian Delia, dishearten the last few leaders with some common sense, alienate more of its erstwhile supporters and bring the oldest political party [...]

Forum Shopping

By
2019-07-22T14:07:20+02:00Mon, 22nd Jul '19, 14:07|

Edward Scicluna, Chris Cardona and Konrad Mizzi chose today to file an appeal from a Magistrate’s order to start an inquiry into the hospitals privatisation scandal. Perhaps they’re superstitious and they were waiting for the planets to align. Or perhaps they were waiting for Giovanni Grixti to be the duty judge to have his turn [...]

GUEST POST: The audacity of trees

By
2019-07-22T12:12:05+02:00Mon, 22nd Jul '19, 12:11|

Lizzie Eldridge asked trees how they dare be. I don’t know about you but I’m fed up with all these trees loitering around on street corners as if they’ve got some God-given right to be there. I mean, what the hell have they ever done for us? In Malta, with our long hot summers, trees [...]

Moody Moneyval

By
2019-07-22T12:15:17+02:00Mon, 22nd Jul '19, 11:43|

Malta failed the Moneyval reviewing process which assessed Malta’s willingness and ability to fight money laundering.  Edward Scicluna and Joseph Muscat have spent the last year preparing you for this result bringing in all sorts of irrelevant considerations in order to diffuse the significance of this. A year ago Edward Scicluna was arguing this was [...]

Fact check

By
2019-07-22T11:02:31+02:00Mon, 22nd Jul '19, 11:02|

Congratulations to all winners at the Istitut tal-Ġurnalisti Maltin awards, particularly the lifetime achievement awardee Lawrence Grech. Also, a nice touch to salute Ivan Fenech of the Times of Malta who died earlier this year of a sudden illness. Perhaps, since it's an institute of journalists, it would have been great if someone did some [...]

Owen’s mission to civilise

By
2019-07-22T10:46:00+02:00Mon, 22nd Jul '19, 10:46|

The destruction of a memorial to an innocent human being murdered for sport is, in a civilised context, an act of barbarism. Vandalising the makeshift memorial to Lassana Cisse made of flowers and messages of grief and sympathy is a racist attack. It is an extension of the mindless and evil racism that killed him [...]

GUEST SERIES: Joseph Muscat’s oath (3)

By
2019-07-20T09:00:47+02:00Mon, 22nd Jul '19, 08:54|

Concludes the first part of this series on testimonies given by Joseph Muscat and Owen Bonnici in the case filed by Adrian Delia demanding a copy of the Egrant inquiry report. In this concluding section, Godfrey Leone Ganado takes another look at the published extract of the inquiry report and compares them with the statement [...]

THE SUNDAY TIMES: The end for some

By
2019-07-21T18:21:15+02:00Sun, 21st Jul '19, 18:21|

From my article in The Sunday Times today: "A year ago Labour campaigned on the moronic mantra that we were living ‘the best of times’. The opiates of easy money and easy charm were still conditioning the reaction of people and a positively Panglossian slogan that should not have worked, did. Last week Muscat said [...]

GUEST SERIES: Joseph Muscat’s oath (2)

By
2019-07-20T08:56:04+02:00Sun, 21st Jul '19, 08:45|

Continues from yesterday's first post in this series where Godfrey Leone Ganado is analysing extracts from the official transcript of the testimonies of Joseph Muscat and Owen Bonnici in the case filed by Adrian Delia requesting a copy of the Egrant report. The extracts are reproduced in the original Maltese and typing errors have not been corrected. [...]

How’s Keith Schembri this morning?

By
2019-07-20T09:24:07+02:00Sat, 20th Jul '19, 09:24|

It doesn't happen very often that we realise Keith Schembri has not had his way. It was clear from the start that Moviment Graffitti's victory in the courts over the db project permit in Pembroke was not only won on the environmental front. Perhaps, on that side of things, at best they won a reprieve. [...]

GUEST SERIES: Joseph Muscat’s oath (1)

By
2019-07-20T08:48:00+02:00Sat, 20th Jul '19, 08:47|

Godfrey Leone Ganado has prepared a series analysing the transcripts of Joseph Muscat's and Owen Bonnici's testimonies in court in the case filed by Adrian Delia asking he's given a copy of the Egrant inquiry report. The following is the first part. This series will carry extracts from the transcripts of the testimony given by [...]

Feeling the heat, Ed?

By
2019-07-20T08:32:40+02:00Sat, 20th Jul '19, 08:32|

Edward Scicluna sued Simon Busuttil for defamation saying tweets Simon Busuttil published lie about him. Or something. Here are Simon Busuttil’s tweets. A MAJOR VICTORY in the fight against corruption! THREE ministers under criminal investigation for the obscene transfer of THREE public hospitals behind our backs. And @JosephMuscat_JM is too compromised to remove them, not [...]

Funny boy

By
2019-07-20T08:33:20+02:00Sat, 20th Jul '19, 08:01|

The sack of Malta continues apace. The approval of the highway through Attard has brought tears to many eyes, at least the eyes of people who were not already sore from all the dust. We are stuck in a nightmare, a lucid dream. But we'll wake up from this coma after this zombie apocalypse has [...]

MONEY MAGAZINE: Downfall

By
2019-07-20T07:36:39+02:00Sat, 20th Jul '19, 07:36|

This is my piece in the July 2019 edition of Money Magazine. A digital copy of the magazine can be found here. ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ is a much maligned idiom. It does not democratise aesthetics. It does not give everyone the right to decide that what they like is beautiful. [...]

Go to Top