In the series of frantic box-ticking to convince Moneyval that Malta has transformed itself from a Bacchanalian pirate bay into a sin-free theocracy, Edward Zammit Lewis yesterday unveiled drawings for a glorified warehouse where the government intends to store luxury goods taken from criminals who bought them spending proceeds from their illicit activities. Times of [...]
Monica Vella, first left, on the day of her appointment to the bench with Joe Mifsud. Giovanni Grixti and Myriam Hayman were made judges on the same day. A few days ago, we watched all bemused as the police charged the persons they believe are responsible for the deaths of two tourists decapitated [...]
Robert Abela told journalists yesterday that he has instructed all CEOs of government entities to refrain from doing business outside of their public roles. He described this as the “new mentality” to replace the mentality that allowed Johann Buttigieg to negotiate a business partnership with Yorgen Fenech while regulating his barbarian invasion of towers and monstrous [...]
Don’t they teach logic in schools anymore? Robert Abela told the press yesterday that leaders in the public service have been instructed not to conduct any business outside of their public roles. He called this a “new mentality”. Why did he need to do it? Because, one must presume, he thinks the “old mentality” of [...]
In a statement today Libera and member organisations of the Chance network of rule of law civil society organisations expressed their "deepest concern and support to the Maltese civil society" after the government launched a legal bid to ban Repubblika. Libera is an Italian association that promotes outreach activities and various types of protest action against [...]
Europe’s highest human rights official has criticised Malta and Italy for cooperating with Libya to hold migrants trying to escape that country “despite clear evidence of serious human rights risks. The report, authored by the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic, singled out Malta for criticism in her update report on how European [...]
While I was protesting in Valletta last Monday, my wife, who was at home making tea for the children, had a minor problem. She wanted to know if I had defrosted the bag of frozen chicken drumsticks that she asked me to take out of the freezer that morning because they sure as hell weren't [...]
I'm linking here an important point that journalist Victor Paul Borg posted yesterday. After that immortal press conference by Robert Abela when he huffed and he puffed and tried to blow journalists down, lashing out back at 'nasty' questioning, complaining of dizziness and of being made to work when he felt he wasn't supposed to, [...]
On the day we find out that the government has started a process to ban Repubblika, Christoph Schweiger on Twitter puts up a very pertinent observation about one of the speakers the president of Malta chose to preach national unity a few days ago. The gentleman concerned is Mr Mario Fava. Follow this thread. This [...]
A group of seven professionals working in myriad capacities within the literary and journalistic fields in Malta is inviting writers, editors, journalists, bloggers, publishers, academics, artists, and activists to a public meeting being held online on Zoom on Saturday 13 March 2021 from 10:00 onwards. The meeting will be the first of two intended to [...]
In yet another attack on democracy, the regulator of NGOs, wrote to Repubblika accusing the NGO of working for private interests, over-spending and acting as a propagandist for a political party. He included as evidence articles written by committee members of Repubblika and the fact that Repubblika made submissions to the inquiry investigating the killing [...]
Photo: Daryl Cauchi Herman Grech’s play They Blew Her Up is about the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It’s playing at the upstairs square theatre of St James Cavalier and seating was spread out for social distancing making it an up close, silent, emotional affair. The grim set orbited a jumble of metal [...]
Anġlu Farrugia did not dare to give a material response to the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life to the latter’s accusation that the former exceeded his powers when he dismissed George Hyzler’s report on Joseph Muscat’s unethical conduct. Instead, he got Ian Refalo to write a letter and he sent him that. Ian Refalo [...]
In the pantheon of press conferences given by prime minister Robert Abela in the past year or so, yesterday’s presser was bonkers, even by his dire standards. The first rule of a leaders’ club is not to appear weak in front of the people you govern. I use the words ‘leader’ and ‘govern’ very loosely [...]
Magistrate Nadine Lia recused herself from hearing the evidence against the people charged with supplying the bomb that killed Daphne in October 2017. The request for her recusal was made by lawyers appearing for the Caruana Galizia family and was supported by the prosecution in this case. Nadine Lia is the daughter-in-law of Paul Lia, [...]
In a recent but much happier press speech by Robert Abela, our prime minister told his audience he was the guardian angel of journalistic freedom. “I promise to be the strongest defender of all journalists,” he pledged. This was the end of last January, just over a month ago. Yesterday he lost his shit when [...]
The measure of a man is what he does with power. – Plato Unfortunately, power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely, as Lord Acton put it in 1857. Roman emperors crowned themselves gods. Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor. In Ġenna Malta we do not have emperors – though some time ago we had [...]
Robert Abela's performance at today's press conference about the coronavirus was abysmal. The content was thin, his answers to journalists snide, the case he made on his government's behalf shallow and strained. At one point he must have realised just how badly he was doing because he told his audience he was not feeling too [...]
