Norman's hopes are forever dashed

Published: March 28, 2008 at 9:00am

Update: it turns out that I was wrong.

norman-lowell.jpgNorman Lowell was sentenced yesterday to two years in jail. The prison sentence is suspended for four years. This means that he stays out of jail, but the sentence goes on his record. If he is convicted of any other crime in the next four years, he goes to prison and serves that two-year sentence. He was convicted on three counts of inciting racial hatred and one of insulting the President of Malta.

The latter crime is archaic and ridiculous, and we should be free to insult the president as much as we like. I suppose it takes all sorts. In the USA you can insult the president but God help you if you insult the flag. The British are best: they can insult everything and everyone and do so with impunity – except, of course, where racial hatred is concerned. Inciting racial hatred is another matter.

That madman with the stick was fined EUR500, too. I suppose they can have a whip-around for him at one of their full-moon barbecues or their fenkati. His little friend Arlette Baldacchino can pass the hat around or sell Imperium Europa lapel pins on the Viva Malta website.

One thing she won’t ever have to do again is canvass for him or fundraise for his electoral campaign, as she did in this last general election. His two-year prison sentence (he doesn’t have to serve it, but it’s still a conviction) means that he is barred under article 54 of the Constitution from ever contesting a general election again.

Norman Lowell haranguing the media about the media




73 Comments Comment

  1. David Buttigieg says:

    How about MEP elections? Can he contest those?

  2. Alex says:

    In the last part of that video he is explicitly denying the holocaust. In other countries for that alone you would get a healthy jail term IN PRISON.

    I only feel sorry for those people who believe in him, because they are the true ignorants of our society.

  3. Guzeppi Grech says:

    @Daphne

    Thank you :)

    Re: Norman the Great’s ineligibility to become an MP, I asked that question (or rather pointed it out in a form of a question) yesterday on “The Times” board, and no-one bothered to respond to it or to make the same connection to the prison sentence.

    Except one person!

    Yep, it was you! Lurvely!!

    By the way, please take my postings with a pinch of salt will ya? My facetious comparison of Che to you know who should have triggered a snigger, but all I got was the answer that Che wore a full beard…Come On!! Its the comparison that was supposed to get your goat not the lack of goatie :) :)
    I guess my sense of humour is as impaired as that of the ex-mexxej.

  4. David S says:

    Hi Daphne. I am sure you are well aware of the chaos at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, after spending some Stg 3.5 billion and 6 months of testing ! Its intersting to note that BAA’s slogan for T5 was “A New Beginning “. Is this slogan cursed ?!!

  5. SB says:

    I wonder who the “columnists tal-Hamis, (tas-Sibt) u tal-Hadd” are. Any guesses Daphne? :-)

  6. Daphne Caruana Galizia says:

    @David – yes, he can contest the MEP elections because our Constitution deals only with the Maltese parliament and not the European parliament (obviously).

  7. Corinne Vella says:

    He and his followers think this was a case against freedom of expression. Either Emmy Bezzina hasn’t explained rights and limitations to his client or Norman Lowell hasn’t understood. Or maybe the good lawyer saw this case simply as a free publicity bandwagon for his own political party.

  8. Meerkat :) says:

    Most probably Norman Lowell is David Irving’s fan. Heck, they even look alike….

    Irving is a holocaust denier who has the barefaced cheek to call himself a historian.

    He served a prison sentence in 2006 in Austria because he glorified the Nazi party.

    In October 2007 Irving threatened to sue The Jewish Chronicle for describing him as a “holocaust denier.” The Jewish Chronicle retaliated to this threat by printing their lawyer’s name and address on its front page!

    http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/i/irving-david/

  9. Meerkat :) says:

    I Harry VAT Forms is delirious…
    http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080328/opinion/the-eternal-pregnancy
    talking about pregnancies and waters breaking…

    Maybe he is impressed by that a certain Thomas Beattie a pregnant transgender man

    http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23433883-2,00.html His surname does bring to mind a truckload of wisecracks but I won’t go there..

  10. Some mothers DO have them, I guess.
    NH strikes me as a bit of a ‘bumbler’, if his body language is anything to go by. As to the learned defence council he seems like he’s enjoying a little bit of free publicity. He has never inspired anything but ridicule, from what I hear and read about him.
    Imsieken ukoll f’hiex gew!

  11. Holland says:

    Norman is appealing, so there is still hope for him to make it to Parliament in 2013 :)

    I do not agree with the concept that a convicted person should not be allowed to ever run for MP. One could be a conspiracy theorist and say that such a mechanism could be maliciously used to keep out certain people from Parliament; but leaving out that (hopefully) improbable scenario, everyone has a right to rehabilitate him/herself and if we, the electorate, want to elect a convicted criminal so be it.

    The European parliament would never dream of having such a clause as it leads to a democratic deficit.

    May I add a disclaimer and say that I dislike Norman’s ideologies deeply; although he is of good entertainment value, I have to say.

    [Moderator – The European Parliament does not have such a clause because the European Union does not write the criminal code of member states. It would not bar a woman who’s had an abortion from standing for election because abortion is illegal in Malta. If the member states were to merge into a single state with a harmonised criminal code, rest assured that the European Parliament would pass a similar law on criminal convictions and the right to stand for election.]

  12. mf says:

    I understand that he is too much of an extremist in his words, but hey, he has a point. Illegal immigration is a REAL problem form Malta, and no one is even mentioning it, let alone coming forward with a solution.

    [Moderator – What is his point, exactly? The problem is not that people don’t talk about it. It’s that people can’t seem to talk about it within the confines of a civilised and rational debate.]

  13. Drew says:

    Daphne, I was expecting something way harsher this! Maybe you’re saving the best for last (ghall-Hamis?). At least we all agree we should all be allowed to insult our President as much as we please.

    However, I also happen to be against these so-called “hate speech” laws – In the United States, neo-nazi idiots are free to parade in the streets and publicly declare their world-domination white supremacist plans all they please, all thanks to the First Amendment. Why is this be illegal in Europe?

    As long as one isn’t encouraging genocide, I can’t see why any form of offensive, bigoted, rage-filled, and hate-riddled speech should be illegal.

    Mind you, I despise Norman Lowell and what he stands for, but throwing him in jail and treating him like a criminal is not the answer.

    [Moderator – You’re missing one important point… he is a criminal.]

  14. amrio says:

    @Meerkat

    In the Times article, HA is still referred to as “Dr Vassallo is chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika – the Green party”

    Didn’t he resign? Or was that a false alarm?

  15. Anthony Bugeja says:

    I thought Harry – VAT forms had resigned. And why do they keep saying AD – the Green party ? Green with envy maybe ?

  16. Meerkat :) says:

    @ amrio

    Most probably his wife isn’t as surpised as yours…He still needs to impress her some more

  17. Alex says:

    Great piece on the independent Daphne.

    I would suggest to journalists and columnists, to educate the Maltese about the neo-nazists. They are a fast spreading menace that we should really keep away from our shores. Because the target prey of neo-nazists and skin heads are weak and troubled young people that are easily brainwashed.

    I personally think that this factor coupled with racism that every Maltese genetically inherits, may prove to be a very dangerous cocktail.

  18. Corinne Vella says:

    mf: Is this the point you mean?

    1stDecember2005 #4
    IMPERIUM
    Norman Lowell

    Join Date: Mar 2005
    Location: Sacred Island of Melitae
    Age: 61
    Posts: 3,736
    Rep Power: 2254 Re: Race and Magic Words (The Death of the West)

    ——————————————————————————–

    Notice the contempt:
    the smouldering hatred:
    by this Pali Pali towards us.

    He even prefers China to us!
    India was at war with China a few years ago.
    Such is their hatred for us.

    We will put the Indians and Chinese and Japanese:
    firmly in their place:
    once the Imperium is established.

    We will let wog eat wog:
    force the Japanese to attack the Chinks.
    As for India – we will “re-caste” it!

    Our unbeatable weapon will not be:
    universities, technology, 10% growth:
    it will be FOOD!

    We will starve them all!
    We will extract what we want from them!
    Our food for whatever – on our terms!

    Imperium
    0511
    http://www.vivamalta.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3945

  19. Corinne Vella says:

    mf: or maybe you meant this one?
    1stDecember2005 #4
    IMPERIUM
    Norman Lowell

    Join Date: Mar 2005
    Location: Sacred Island of Melitae
    Age: 61
    Posts: 3,736
    Rep Power: 2254 Re: Race and Magic Words (The Death of the West)

    ——————————————————————————–

    Notice the contempt:
    the smouldering hatred:
    by this Pali Pali towards us.

    He even prefers China to us!
    India was at war with China a few years ago.
    Such is their hatred for us.

    We will put the Indians and Chinese and Japanese:
    firmly in their place:
    once the Imperium is established.

    We will let wog eat wog:
    force the Japanese to attack the Chinks.
    As for India – we will “re-caste” it!

    Our unbeatable weapon will not be:
    universities, technology, 10% growth:
    it will be FOOD!

    We will starve them all!
    We will extract what we want from them!
    Our food for whatever – on our terms!

    Imperium
    0511
    http://www.vivamalta.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7168

  20. Corinne Vella says:

    mf: or maybe you meant this one?
    22ndOctober2006 #8
    IMPERIUM
    Norman Lowell

    Join Date: Mar 2005
    Location: Sacred Island of Melitae
    Age: 61
    Posts: 3,736
    Rep Power: 2254 Re: Bad Jews Or Good Jews?

    ——————————————————————————–

    What a well worded, articulate piece!
    Greatly enjoyed reading it.
    Constantin: so complex, so eloquent.

    Once our Imperium Europa is installed:
    an Arab Grand Caliphate is to be encouraged.
    Sealed borders make good neighbours.

    Besides, we would starve the Muslims whenever we want:
    food will be our single, most potent weapon:
    our ability to grow a food surplus.

    Within a few years, Muslims will revert to their primitive way of life.
    Already, in Saudi Arabia, whole areas are without electricity!
    They yearn to return to their authentic way of life.

    We will force (through food) their Mullahs and Madras:
    to recall ALL Muslims back to the Maghreb (including Aryan converts).
    An effortless, inexpensive Repatriation Programme.

    As we re-conquer sub-Saharan Africa – pushing the Kaffir back to the Congo:
    the Muslim world would be surrounded by Imperium Europa.
    We would strangle them whenever we want.

    And the obstacle to all this?
    That Rodent State of Israel – that nest of vipers.
    Those Mischief Makers – That Hidden Enemy – That World Enemy.

    Imperium
    0610

    http://www.vivamalta.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7168

  21. Drew says:

    Corinne, few people will argue that this man is indeed insane. But that’s not the point. The point is whether he and people like him should be allowed to express themselves freely. In the United States, the epitome of multiculturalism, all hate speech is tolerated, so why not here?

    [Moderator – The United States is a bad example because it is the exception and not the rule, along with Ghana, Sri Lanka, the Ukraine and Georgia. Slander is a criminal offence in six members of the G8 and in some of the most liberal democracies in the world, including Denmark, the country with possibly the most liberal (lowercase ‘l’) press in the world. The logic behind hate speech laws is that if it is a criminal offence to publicly slander an individual, it is a similar offence to do the same to an entire group of people. Are you arguing for the abolition of libel laws?]

  22. Meerkat :) says:

    @ Corinne Vella but more to mf

    This is a ditty that David Irving wrote

    I am a Baby Aryan
    Not Jewish or Sectarian
    I have no plans to marry an
    Ape or Rastafarian.

    Source
    http://www.fpp.co.uk/docs/trial/Times030200.html

    Christopher Hitchens writes in ‘Churchill Take a Fall’ (Atlantic Monthly) that after having dinner in his New York apartment, Irving sang this ditty to his daughter once they were alone in the building’s lift. Hitchens is a contributing author in Vanity Fair magazine.

    AS DISGUSTING as the posts found in vivamalta.

    People like Norman Lowell and David Irving are dangerous…but people who support them are stupid.

  23. David Buttigieg says:

    I believe this man is dangerous! Not because he is intelligent. Some have suggested this but I have yet to see proof of it. His ranting and ravings actually point to the contrary.

    He is dangerous because Malta, as everywhere, has it’s fair share of racist bigots looking for a scapegoat for their own lack of success in life. They always want to make sure someone appears worse off. If necessary they will take skin colour as a reason.

    They are envious of others’ success, all the more so if those others have a different skin colour.

  24. Jean says:

    “His two-year prison sentence (he doesn’t have to serve it, but it’s still a conviction) means that he is barred under article 54 of the Constitution from ever contesting a general election again.”

    Article 54 of the Constitution does not say that a conviction disqualifies one from contesting a general election, but rather that one is disqualified from contesting a general election as long as one “is under such a sentence of imprisonment the execution of which has been suspended”. I think only MLP supporters think we’ll be having another general election within the next four years.

    I don’t know whether he could contest for the EP elections, but I don’t suppose this in itself to be regulated by the member states.

    Regards,
    Jean.

  25. Drew says:

    Daphne I’m not calling for the repealment of libel laws. What I’m against is the criminalization of speech. As far as I know, nobody has ever been jailed for libel in Malta.

    [Moderator – I am not Daphne. I wish you the best of luck with your fight in favour of criminal slander, because most of the civilised world is against you. Norman Lowell has not been jailed, and if he manages to spend the next two years without being a bellicose fool, he won’t.]

  26. Drew says:

    Moderator, criminal slander is practically nonexistant in the “civilised world” – in fact the only Western country to have jailed a person for defamation during the past few years is Spain.

    [Moderator – Exactly. The laws exist, but they rarely translate to actual jail time, and that includes Norman Lowell’s case.]

  27. amrio says:

    Louis Grech out of MLP Leadership race:

    http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=50444&newscategory=33

    A pity – I quite like the man.

    [Moderator – The article points out that he never even considered running.]

  28. europarl says:

    I guess you all safely blow in the same direction the wind blows. That’s most convenient, of course. Has always been so.

    Most here cannot even separate the “Lowell issue” from the issue of freedom of expression.

    I could be totally disinterested in what Lowell says (or against, for that matter), but still ask: What times are these when people are caged for making their thoughts public? Is this a new phenomenon?

    And yet, there was only a small window in history when you were not imprisoned for divulging what your mind sprang out, and only in some places of the world.

    So today, as we watch that window slowly close, all we can talk about here is Lowell and his way of saying things.

    Soon, what is today “Politcally Incorrect” will join the ranks of illegal public utterances. It’s just like the advent of tyranny in the Soviet Union. The people never actually realize the situation they’re in until it becomes self-evident. And they have historically reacted negatively toward the few who tried to wake them up.

    (BTW, European Elections fall under the same national legislation as national elections. What goes for one goes for the other… ghalissa, cos everything will soon change)

  29. europarl says:

    Would you believe, Meerkat, that Gigi has those biscuits – but as with most “dog food” he appreciates them less than our biscuits.

    A good thing dogs cannot translate their thoughts into words. They would end up caged with humans.

  30. Meerkat :) says:

    @ amrio

    re Louis Grech

    I rather prefer his son ;-) oops you don’t want this blog to go down the drain again hehehehehe

  31. Meerkat :) says:

    @ europarl

    who’s Gigi, Fifi’s husband? :-D

  32. Corinne Vella says:

    waqfa ghar-riklami:

  33. Meerkat :) says:

    You must have missed this Corinne!

    BAHNAN!

  34. europarl says:

    Thanks for the PACman vid, Corinne. I even managed a YouTube comment in tribute to the the Great Jeremy…

    Give me Jeremy Clarkson anytime!

    [Moderator – I think you’ll find that while Jeremy Paxman stuck to questions, Jeremy Clarkson would have smacked George Galloway right on the nose.]

  35. europarl says:

    You’re wrong Moderator, Clarkson would punch a nosey warden on the nose, but not Galloway.

    [Moderator – Either way, George Galloway is a buffoon and it is no wonder he commands nobody’s respect. Paxman probably knew that Galloway had been skimming oil money from Baghdad to London for years, but couldn’t say anything about it because there wasn’t enough evidence to say so at the time, so he just gave us the pleasure of watching him being annoyed.]

  36. Amanda Mallia says:

    Europarl – “I guess you all safely blow in the same direction the wind blows. That’s most convenient, of course. Has always been so.”

    Your assumption could not be further from the truth. (Unless, of course, you were referring to a specific contender for the post of MLP leader, who goes against his supposed principles simply to go with the flow of the moment.)

  37. amrio says:

    @Meerkat

    Another sexist comment from you…. Ffffff!!! ;)

    If I see another woman chauvinist comment in this blog, myself and Guzeppi will start a ‘Sexy Maltese politician women’ thread, and I warn you, it won’t be a pretty sight…..

  38. Vanni says:

    “Give me Jeremy Clarkson anytime!”

    My favourite program, Top Gear. Europarl, there IS some hope for you, after all. :P

  39. Amanda Mallia says:

    Anthony Bugeja – “And why do they keep saying AD – the Green party ? Green with envy maybe ?”

    Maybe the “green” bit is their attempt at translation of the Maltese word “hdura”, for which there is no real English equivalent.

  40. Corinne Vella says:

    Since we’re on the subject of freedom of expression, let’s see what one champion of the cause (http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=255#comment-4940) has to say:

    europarl (17 minutes ago) Reply Jeremy PACman came out as a hole with a capital A here. What kind of questions are these, Jeremy? Does Galloway’s anti-war stance rub you the wrong way?

    Now I realize why Newsnight has been adopting special ways by which to spread islamophobia… and why I haven’t watched it for the past 3 months.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD5tunBGmDQ&eurl

    The first person who can work that one out wins a European flag.

  41. Guzeppi Grech says:

    ooops…Amrio

    you said sexy Maltese politician woman…well if you insist :)

    http://warping.to/ambra/miriamdalli/

  42. Zaren tal-wied ta' Hal Qormi says:

    whine as much as you want, my dear emmy, but the sentence is there for all to see. it’s useless that you try to impress the people outside court with elaborate argumentation and red-faced rhetoric…it’s the people inside court that need to be impressed. go back to your lawfirm and do some much needed soul searching if you haven’t understood this yet.

    On a personal note, I exercised my freedom of speech many a time by way of a post i occupied up to a year ago, and, as a consequence, I got a fair amount of threatening letters shoved around my doorstep by Norman Lowell’s bimbos. and now comes Lowell acting like the Martyr of I-don’t-know-where. Oh please! you guys make me sick.

  43. maws says:

    speaking about female maltese politicians I would give my 1 to helena dalli….

  44. Meerkat :) says:

    @ amrio

    I’m not into feminist bra-burning piffle… So I will pass sexist comments at leisure…

    Please call me Pussy Galore :-D

  45. amrio says:

    @Guzeppi

    I said ‘sexy politician women’ – Miriam Dalli is not a politician, else we have to include Charlon Gouder in the list…

  46. Meerkat :) says:

    This is an accurate reproduction of what Anglu Bellu witnessed on the 8th March 2008

    http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/ndi0787l.jpg

    These are the tips he picked up from his Indian jaunt
    http://www.bradblog.com/Images/HowToRigAnElection.jpg

  47. Meerkat :) says:

    @ bertu

    And quoting My Way doesn’t make The Poodle ‘The Voice’… I’m surprised he didn’t break into song while at it.

    That man doesn’t have one original thought in his brain let alone style.

  48. Corinne Vella says:

    Meerkat: How do you find this stuff?

  49. Meerkat :) says:

    @ Corinne

    I have little people in my PC ;-)

  50. Marku says:

    Jekk tant ihobb lil Malta, kif jitkellem bl-Ingliz?

    [Moderator – Ghax jghid li l-Malti huwa lingwa ta’ l-Gharab.]

  51. Corinne Vella says:

    Michael Falzon will be announcing his intentions too.
    http://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080328/local/falzon-due-to-announce-leadership-candidacy-tomorrow

    This race is starting to look like a stampede towards Noah’s Ark. I hope it doesn’t start raining too.

  52. europarl says:

    I know it’s not “the subject”, but I feel you should be informed about the alternative discourse, i.e. the debate outside the restricted (controlled) MSM discourse.

    Here’s a recent video you should reflect upon. It DOES concern YOUR money, over which no one in Malta holds as much power as that held by the foreign powers you tend to forget and ignore.

    This is one of those rare moments when the MSM veers into Alternative territory; in this case Ron Paul had to be the one to push the envelope.

    I’m sure some of you would agree with the mainstream language of Faiz Shakir, the Wall Street apparatchik reacting to Ron Paul. I can assure you that what he said is contradictable in more ways than Ron Paul had time to do in this encounter (Duration – 06:26 mins.):

    A note on the banking/central banks issue:

    When ANY bank loans out money, it is not lending from a pool of existing “invested” money, but is actually creating NEW money and pouring it into the market. The banks lend money on the basis of credits that are in fact plain debts in a never-ending cycle of debit turning into credit by a magic wand. A one-million euro loan becomes, in the bank’s accounts, a 1 million euro credit upon which it can then issue more loans and create more new money, generating huge multiplying incomes through interest rates and flooding the market with new money.

    It’s a pyramind scheme that sucks wealth from the people in one eventual direction: the webbed, hierarchical banking cartel. It eventually always collapses to the detriment of the people.

    Let me further explain. What happens when one million non-existent euros are poured into the market as a loan? The market gets flooded with yet another (fake) million and the prices go up for everyone. That is how economic bubbles are created. Growth rates rise, GDPs rise – in bubbles.

    The flip side to this is that having a currency without a standard (such as the gold standard) is like saying the kilo fluctuates as far as weight is concerned and the temperature of boiling water is not always 100 degrees celcius. The Federal Reserve, a secretive cartel controlled by the top bankers, has no congressional oversight to worry about. It governs itself without even having to report to the people about their own money supply and the setting of interest rates that eventually control our lives. The euro is likewise controlled by a linked banking cartel based in Frankfurt. No one has authority over the European Central Bank, not even the EU Politburo (the Commission) or the Supreme Soviet (European Parliament; US Congress), or of course the EU Council of collectivised nation states’ governments.

    To conclude, all this banking activity causes inflation. And the idiot who still relies on monetary savings has his wealth nibbled at by a weakening currency caused by a market flooded with new money created out of thin air (both printed and loaned).

    So let the banking cartels controlling the dollar and the euro have their secretive ways and in the longer term everyone is being robbed without even realizing it, especially the poorer members of the global society.

    The euro might seem relatively strong against the collapsing dollar today, but it’s still a FIAT currency and history teaches that all FIAT currencies end in tragic collapse, as do the corresponding empires based on those currencies.

    And if you think one should never compare the EU to an “empire”, that’s what Barroso did last year (YouTube “Barroso empire short version”; or simply check the various definitions of “empire”).

  53. Alex says:

    I just read this:

    http://www.maltarightnow.com/?module=news&at=New+policy+for+MLP+candidates+for+leader&t=a&aid=30970&cid=72

    We are in for a good ride, tighten your seatbelts!! gogo metrosexuals

    [Moderator – It’s been replaced with the message ‘this item is being updated’. What was there when you checked?]

  54. europarl says:

    A note for anyone thinking in simple terms:

    When a bank pours new money into the market as a loan, such as a house loan, the money is mostly digitally transfered from one bank account to another. It could be the same bank, it could be another. This is the reason why banks lend eachother money. In the end of the day, it is only a very small percentage of that money that actually goes in circulation as cash in hand.

    This illusion is very detrimental to the people and does wonders to the banking cartel. Meanwhile the wealth you see around you has all been created by the people, aided with better technology, in spite of the suction pump at the top.

    But if you think about it, it has been getting tighter and tighter. Soon many will be needing a second job to survive. And it would not be because of an increase in the employment sector, but due to a decrease in household incomes (in real terms).

  55. Daphne, I think you are wrong when you say that Lowell is eligible to stand for the EP election. Here’s the European Parliament Elections Act:

    19. (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Act, no
    person shall be qualified to stand for election as a member of the
    European Parliament or, if elected, to remain a member thereof if,
    whether in Malta or in any other Member State –

    […]

    (e) he is serving a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever
    name called) exceeding twelve months imposed on
    him by a court in a Member State or is under such a
    sentence of imprisonment the execution of which has
    been suspended;

    [Moderator – Fausto, thank you. My assumptions were just that.]

  56. Ray says:

    Those interested in the Labour Party leadership are not being allowed to take part in radio and TV programmes, by order of the party’s wise men. This will give some headstart to the first ones to declare their interest, ie JM and Evarist. This tactic is reminiscent of the way that AS was kept away from the media in the election weeks. Gee whiz, what freedom of expression, what openness and transparency!

  57. europarl says:

    And one on the subject:

    I find it ironic, given the other charges on racism, that our President should have felt offended with being called “Lumumba”.

    What’s wrong with the assassinated former prime minister of Congo, Patrice Lumumba?

    I assume if Lowell had called him “Kennedy” it would have constituted no offence.

  58. Anthony Bugeja says:

    OMG – what if Anglu wins the contest ? It’s not Valium that we will be needing every 5 years but major anti-depressants.

  59. Alex says:

    this is the Maltese version of it:

    http://maltarightnow.com/?module=news&t=a&aid=30969&cid=19

    Freedom of speech at it’s best :D

  60. Alex says:

    I am sorry to dissapoint you europarl but this is just another conspiracy theory.

    It is true that sometimes financial markets are governed by speculators but that can’t last for long, and that is the booms and busts we observe.

    All this finance is backed by math and statistics and not with only philosophical theories, there is economical laws governing financial markets, I invite you to visit an investment bank to see for yourself how prices of financial instruments are set.

    I am sorry but most of what that guy is saying is bull!!

    Just think of this, try and get an 18 year-old to obtain a 10,000 loan, will the bank give him the loan, no. Why? Because you need a collateral and that is what we call securization, and around 80% of all loans are securized that is by law, something called Basel Accord, now Basel II.

  61. Ray says:

    The ban on participation by leadership candidates in radio and TV programmes could well be a tug on the strings by the Hidden Hand which still holds them. Such string-pulling would help to steer the leadership race towards the desired route. A big clap for the fairness, honesty and all the other virtues which are being manifested…

    The water will run through the gutter through which it has always flowed in this Party if the delegates will follow blindly. I fear that the same ‘fruit’ will be borne.

    Who is actually running the party at this moment? Who is authorised to issue instructions in the absence of a formal leader?

  62. Albert Farrugia says:

    Come on Ray, have you forgotten the rules applied during the PN leadership election in 2004? Some people in here should begin touching base with reality again. After all, its already 3 weeks after the election.

  63. Corinne Vella says:

    Europarl / Kevin Ellul Bonnici: “A note for anyone thinking in simple terms”
    That’s not the best of starts for someone who wants to be read beyond their first sentence and to persuade everyone to cross the great divide between ignorance and enlightenment.

  64. Corinne Vella says:

    Anthony Bugeja: It will be one hell of a swearing in ceremony, that’s for sure. Just imagine the elephant parade galumphing down Republic Street and on into the palace courtyard. Don’t tell me Maltese politics isn’t fun.

  65. Corinne Vella says:

    Europarl / Kevin Ellul Bonici: Since the subject of banking interests you, this might too:
    http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n01/lanc01_.html

    And no, I’m not being sarcastic.

  66. Godwin Micallef says:

    Moderator – You’re missing one important point… he is a criminal

    On what grounds did you deduct he is a criminal? The court infact says

    `Illi l-prosekuzzjoni naqset li tesibixxi l-fedina penali talimputat
    w ghalhekk iil-Qorti ser tittratta mieghu bhala li a first time offender.`

    Post facts not lies.

  67. europarl says:

    Yes, Corinne, I have to agree with you about that line. I guess I was too tried and what I meant was completely different :)

    Well thought out articles need time, really. Taking the ‘comment’ attitude to such subjects does not help, unless you’re a Daphne, who seems to shoot from the hip and get it right… well, almost.

    And tnx for the link. Banking, financial markets, economics… it’s really way-out of my line, I must admit, but ppl who argue like alex (that it’s all sound mathematics) do not convince me one bit. I would say Economics is more of a social science than anything else – and that’s what “economists” and bankers tinker with: the fruits of labour and trade as translated into material wealth. Go trust the top bankers, like the naive alex does. (Sorry alex, I think your comment was quite off the back of your brain – just repeating the trash you’ve been fed for years – it does not work like that)

    But alex here says “this guy is bull” – by “this guy” I guess he’s referring to Ron Paul, the only US congressman who’s dedicated his life to sticking with the TRUTH rather than political expediency.

    “Conspiracy theory” aye, alex? Well, if you’ve learned that phrase I guess you might as well use it.

  68. Alex says:

    Europarl, there is no convincing to do, it is a science, like you say, and what is scientifically proven can not be contested. We are not trying to convince some judges that what is certain can be doubted, you know.

    This guy you are so fond of would be a great friend to Mintoff, because their ideology development both stopped in the 70’s. What he preaches, like Mintoff, made lots of sense at that time.

    If you are so sure of him europal, then just take his suggestion and invest only in gold, it will not be a bad strategy, but you could make much more with your limited resources, which is what economics is all about!!

  69. europarl says:

    Quoting Alex: “there is no convincing to do, it is a science, like you say, and what is scientifically proven can not be contested.”

    See what I mean? No differentiation whatsoever between physical sciences and social sciences (even the former group are today subject to re-evaluation, let alone the hazy latter “sciences”)

    This guy thinks Il-Profs got it made, period.

    As for comparing Ron Paul to Mintoff, well, well, well… a Libertarian anti-neocon conservative and an Nanny-State socialist-authoritarian-democrat are hardly comparable.

    Spot-on on the gold thing, though – it’s hit the $1000 mark I heard. Gold never lies, unlike the banking cartel and its global media network.

  70. Alex says:

    I feel sorry for you europarl,, hopefully one day you will realise how wrong you are. You are just trusting what a physician is saying when at the same time you state that you have no idea what he is talking about. I guess all those Nobel Prizes are just part of the banking cartel cover-up.

    Most finance and economics theories are backed by the same proofs that govern the law of physics and engineering. For those of you who saw beautiful mind, the game theory, a theory that was invented for economics, is now being used in the “physical sciences.” What you said above, europal, shows how little you know regarding the laws that cover these hazy latter “sciences”.

    I challenge you to at least research the basel accords and see for yourself, how quoting you, “The market gets flooded with yet another (fake) million and the prices go up for everyone.” is not possible!!

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