You might think conflicts of interest of people in office don’t concern you if they’re doing ‘a good job’. You might not care if Owen Bonnici is Justice Minister and personal attorney to a subject of a criminal inquiry. Here’s when it starts hitting you. If you live in Pembroke, or don’t and just care [...]
The initial shock when Peter Grech outed his minister, Owen Bonnici, as holding a private practice while still minister is now sinking in. The rule that prevents ministers from keeping up their professions is not to keep a lid on their income or to make sure they’re available if the prime minister needs to give [...]
Last night I caught two gov. workers red handed as they removed a photo of slain #Malta journalist #DaphneCaruanaGalizia and a small candle from the makeshift memorial opposite the courts in #Valletta. They also made sure to take my photo before rushing off in a gov. car Surreal pic.twitter.com/mwmx4bGRnt — Claire Caruana (@ClaireCaruana) October 1, [...]
From my article in today's The Sunday Times: Photo: amnat30/Shutterstock.com "Sicilian courts have spent the past 70 years beating against the rubber wall of denial that organised crime even exists. In that context, they see the media and politics’ collaboration with the Mafia’s efforts to suppress awareness of its existence as an extension [...]
Press release from #occupyjustice and manueldelia.com Bad governance effects us all. Corruption hurts us all. The allocation of valuable public land for an absurdly low price to the dB Group, the permit for them to erect a monstrous tower, the contempt shown to residents and protesters are a product of bad governance and corruption. People [...]
In a few days it will have been a year since Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed. Thirty Italian journalists have issued an appeal to colleagues in the profession to be in Malta on 16th October. The journalists insist on justice to be served on those who commissioned her assassination. The Italian journalists issued their appeal [...]
Chris Cardona says the salaries we pay his staffers are a secret we are not entitled to discover. He also told the regulator he will not be sharing with him this secret in order to assess, according to the law, whether we should know. Chris Cardona makes a mockery of freedom of information law. He [...]
A play by Lizzie Eldridge is premiering tonight as part of the Valletta 2018 program. The playwright is missing the premiere. Here she explains why. It’s a real privilege, you’d think, to have your work chosen as part of the programme for a European Capital of Culture. And tonight, my play Friefet Bojod premieres at [...]
In an open letter to Porter magazine’s winter issue, actress Meryl Streep defines “true bravery” when writing in defence of good journalism. “Bravery is terrifying and actual, bravado is a parade. We see enough examples of braggadocio and bravado strutting around on the public stage. True bravery is Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, blown up in [...]
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has made his first pronouncement. The fact that pronouncement happened to be about a lawyer and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is the outgoing President of the Chamber of Advocates is, in my view, entirely secondary. The Commissioner was speaking about a government Minister and a Member of Parliament. That [...]
They say laughter is the best medicine. But I'm not a doctor so I wouldn't know. But sarcasm, irony, wit, mockery, satire, parody and humour are legitimate forms of protest. We do not resort to it often enough because it feels awkward to laugh at times like these. Let's shake the awkwardness off. Steve Hili [...]
It was nice of Joseph Brincat to drop by in the constitutional case I filed against Owen Bonnici claiming his orders to censor the protest in front of the Law Courts was a breach of the rights to freedom of expression. You see Joseph Brincat is part of our history of human rights. He’s also [...]
Truth has become optional. It is extremely hard to justify the private jet debacle. Private jets carrying prime ministers -- Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi -- have been the subject of super one scandals for generations. When a mid-level civil servant was flown on one to avoid cancelling her leave so a favourable vote [...]
Owen Bonnici sprayed his shorts yesterday all gleeful that I withdrew the injunction request to stop him censoring the protest in front of the Law Courts. Of course he's been reading the papers and knows that at the same time I filed a constitutional case arguing he breached constitutional free speech safeguards. Joseph and Michelle [...]
Owen Bonnici misled the public with a statement today suggesting I withdrew court action arguing his censorship of the protest in Great Siege Square is a breach of human rights. I have done no such thing. I have issued the below statement in response. Stqarrija bi tweġiba lill-Ministru Bonnici Nirreferi għall-istqarrija tal-lum tal-Ministru Owen Bonnici. [...]
So Joseph Muscat ‘disagreed’ with whoever decided a middle manager in the civil service with a vote that could make a difference between ruining Silvio Debono and making him a billionaire should be flown in and out of her holiday by private jet to be at the PA meeting. He sure can act powerless when [...]
The public cleansing department has confirmed it continues to remove flowers, candles and pictures left in Great Siege Square. They are not on the Great Siege Memorial. They are not obstructing any workers. They are not in the way of pedestrians. They are just there. And they remove them. Every night.
Get your tickets here.
Guest post by Anna Briffa in the form of a letter to Edward Scicluna. Dear Professor Scicluna, Very Few Crumbs I’m so glad I don’t even have to feign gratitude for the the measly €45 to €60 cheque that you so condescendingly distributed among workers. I didn’t get one. Not because I am a pensioner. [...]
