We’re back – after another Labour attempt at suppressing criticism of Alfred ‘Chicken’ Sant

Published: March 8, 2008 at 4:58pm

If we needed any further proof that the Labour Party is completely intolerant of any form of criticism, and doesn’t understand the basic democratic concept of freedom of speech, this is it. At 1315hrs today, somebody hacked into our server and blocked this site. Anybody trying to log on got the message: Error – access denied. That’s the thing with the Internet, you see – they can’t burn the building down, so they have to find some other way.

It took us about one-and-a-half hours to get it back on line again, after receiving kind assistance in shifting it to a different server. Meanwhile, lots of you called and emailed to see what had gone wrong. What went wrong is this: there are too many people about who don’t understand free speech.

Sorry, boys, but you’re going to have to learn how to take criticism. No more burning down of newspaper buildings or sabotaging Internet sites. We can get the site back on line again, but the Labour Party you’re trying to protect ends up with even more egg on its intolerant face.

It’s 2008, we’re in the European Union. It’s the Internet age. You’re going to have to learn how to take it. Who knows? You might even learn from it.

This website, an idea conceived in a split second last Saturday and put into effect in a couple of hours that same night, has been a run-away hit. It is a rallying-point for those who are tired of the po-faced ‘I’m so balanced that if I criticise Labour then I must also criticise the Nationalists’ coverage elsewhere. Lots of people don’t think that way. They have eyes in their head and can see Labour for what it is: the party that hasn’t won a single general election since 1976 – 32 years – except for Alfred Sant’s brief aberration. The Labour Party scores one fiasco after another because it is wholly incompetent and cut off from the way things are done. No wonder they’re gearing up to go mad if they win today, and are already behaving like Madame Defarge and her cronies beneath the guillotine.

Let’s face it: those who can’t see that the Labour Party is a terrible mess and that the Nationalist Party is not, for all its faults, need some new spectacles. The Labour Party isn’t frightening per se – it’s comical, a tragicomedy. The fear factor lies in having a bunch of clowns and incompetents with their hands on the wheel. It would be like having Malta run by the Three Stooges – except that the stooges were harmless and these people are bitter, intolerant and vengeful.

If they learnt as they went along, it might be tolerable to have to put up with incompetence after so much efficiency. But these are people who in almost four decades have made it a point not to learn from their mistakes. You can try to teach them all the lessons they need to learn, and they won’t take this information on board. Why? Because they have no regrets. So off people go to teach the Nationalists a lesson instead – how unwise, how short-sighted.

Yesterday alone, 31,000 different people – ‘unique visitors’ in Internet speak – visited this site. Yes, 31,000. We started out with just 900 visitors last Sunday and since then, word has spread. This is because people have been longing for something like this, and to hell with the hypocrisy and skewed thinking that says politicians should not be mocked regardless of how badly they behave.

We will continue to mock Chicken Sant as long as he leads the Labour Party, and if he becomes prime minister tomorrow, you can rest assured that we will have even more to say.




16 Comments Comment

  1. Jonathan says:

    My comments yesterday about censorship and jamming of TV stations in the 80’s re-appearing under a ‘new’ lejberr government seem even more relevant NOW !
    IF WE ELECT LEJBERR THEY WILL RUIN MALTA IN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS IF ELECTED !!
    We are behind you DAPHNE 100%…sock it to those MORONS!! (Hope you have another spare server just in case !)

  2. Rebecca says:

    I have read your comments Daphne, and you reminded of the days when voicing an opinion that differed from that of the then government, was unheard of and totally prohibited. If you did not agree with Mintoff at the time, then you were the outcast. Pluralism was a thing out of cyber space, that unreachable concept that the Nationalist Party restored in 1987. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that makes people continue to vote Nationalist because it believes in dialogue and discussion and not in violence, threats and fear. The Labour Party have yet to come to terms with the concept of democracy, even though they try to disguise themselves behind slogans such as ‘new beginning’ but episodes of intolerance continue to manifest themselves, no matter how hard they try to convince us that they have changed.

  3. patrick says:

    I just read the article above regarding the hack on you site.
    It could be a stupid labourite who have done this. It could be that he could have done jsut for fun. Hackers like to hack anything for th fun of it. I hope you are not blaming Sant for hacking your website. It is shoudl be a joke.

    By the way i think you are the one who does not accept criticism. I have already made 2 other comments which are waiting for MODERATION. HEHE
    Viva il freedom of speech.
    I think you arrogance is a reflection of the PN’s arrogance.
    Please also note that i already expressed my opinion on other blog’s which allow everyone to express their throughts freely.
    Prosit daphne.

    [Moderator – Again. Try sending a lemon to the New York Times because you want to fight for the rights of lemons and see if they’ll wrap the newspaper in plastic and insert lemons in each copy. Freedom of speech is not the freedom to force private people to communicate your speech.]

  4. Corinne Vella says:

    Patrick:
    If you feel your opinion is being suppressed, you can start up your own site and tell the world what you think.

    Please do. The more people are out in the open, the less likely others will be afraid to say what they think.

  5. Dumbledore says:

    “The Electoral Commission said this afternoon that 45 percent of eligible voters had cast their general election ballot by 2 p.m. That compares to 49 percent in 2003.”

    Come on everyone, go cast your vote!

  6. Vanni says:

    I really hate that word ‘prosit’. Prosit ta-program, Prosit tal-post, Prosit tal-ittra… It is the most aired word on the Maltese scene, be it forums, Radio, newspapers, or what have you. Now it seems that it has found a new usage, an attempt at infantile sarcasm. Ah well, I’ll just have to grin and bear it, I suppose.

    OK, rant over, and now to patrick :)

    Patrick this is a Blog. Let me try to explain the concept, just consider this as DCG’s house. She may decide to let you in, or not. Nobody is asking you to visit, you may do so if you want to. But she also has the right to grant you access, or deny it.
    If you don’t like it, start your own Blog.

  7. me says:

    Time: 18:50
    Watching SuperOne. Whilst it is dark outside, the SuperOne reporter Maria Muscat is making a direct report from Msida in 16:00 daylight.

  8. Carmel Scicluna says:

    Daph, innutajt kemm spikka s-silenzju ta’ l-intellettwali tul din il-kampanja elettorali? Ghalfejn ma jitkellmux f’mumenti kurcjali bhal dawn ghall-pajjizna? Ghadhom jezistu, kollox ma’ kollox, dawn l-ispeci ta’ nies hekk imsejha intellettwlai f’din l-era post post-moderna?
    Int gurnalista, wahda mill-ahjar f’pajjizna. Ma tibzax mil-Lejber, tikxfilhom kull maskra li jilbsu u tibqa’ tikteb fuqhom, b’dahka zeblieha, kif jixirqilhom. Imn’alla kont int f’dawn iz-zminijiet biex tikkumenta u tikkritika ghax hafna mill-gurnalisti l-ohra bla bajd, bla sinsla. U jisghobbini nghid hemm minnhom, l-aktar in-nisa, jghiru ghalik ghax ghandek profil gholi u kapaci aktar minnhom.
    Imbierek, bil-haqq, il-mument li ddecidejtu li taghmlu dan il-kummentarju elettroniku.
    U xihaga ohra: Corinne Vella u Amanda Mallia jigu hutek? Minn kif jiktbu naqtaghhom nisa ta’ veru … bhalek! Narak, Daph. Imtela bil-kuragg! U jien fiducjuz, qalbi mimlija li l-PN se nergghu naraw hawn fuq! Il-bidu gdid sehh meta dhalna fl-Unjoni Ewropea. Il-bidu gdid se jsehh fil-Lejber la jtiru min-nofs il-Patrijarka tal-Vizjoni Moderna, l-Iljun tal-Bidla Li l-Poplu Ma Jridx, tad-DNA Tajjeb u Boob-Job Jason. Nissoponi se jkollhom jikkunsidraw anki jibdlux l-isem tal-partit la tithabbar ufficjalment it-telfa li se tkun tfissrilhom kwazi 25 sena fl-Oppozizzjoni! Issa jgibuhom l-20,000 li webblu l-boloh li ghandhom li se jgibu! Just wait and see!

  9. Simon says:

    I got a scare this morning. I thought that we started to get a taste of what Labour means. No wonder that Sant spoke of Belarus last Thursday. Sant and his firend Mario Vella are stuck in the Leftist pseudo intellectual mentality of the 70s. The era where people used to listen to the pseudo intellectuals, who never worked in their lives, never did anything tangible, never worked for the private sector etc., is long gone.

    Today we are in 2008, where people need to work and get real with their lives.

  10. Daphne Caruana Galizia says:

    Carmel Scicluna – yes, Corinne Vella and Amanda Mallia are my sisters, and so is Helene Asciak.

  11. Marku says:

    Dear Daphne: I suspected that someone had hacked into the site and I’m glad you’re back on.

  12. V says:

    I love the last line: We will continue to mock Chicken Sant as long as he leads the Labour Party, and if he becomes prime minister tomorrow, you can rest assured that we will have even more to say.

    Great Work Daphne!!!

  13. Angela says:

    Great work Daphne!

    So MLP are watching this blog … know then that what convinced me to vote PN were hours of listening to your dumb, rude and aggressive members e.g. Manuel Cuschieri, Debono Grech, Micheal Falzon. You spread nothing but Hate for “the others” like we’re not all maltese and in the same boat!

    And for Micheal Falzon I’m a christian too but I would be ashamed to be a christian and incite a crowd like you do; Filling them with anxiety, worry and hopelessness with your lies. You should try to convince with proposals, plans & vision!

    AN have prepared for this election more than MLP!!! You disrespect the maltese people by thinking we are fools who can’t see through you’re empty “pjan”.

    Obviously you will sweep this comment aside and classify me under “the others” and refuse to change! I wish Labour lose so that maybe by some miracle you will realise that this country needs to have a strong opposition with new ideas, a clear vision & with positivity so we will finally have a healthy choice!

  14. John Schembri says:

    Carmel Scicluna ghamel osservazzjoni li l-intellettwali ma’ dehru imkien.Nahseb li intellettwali hawn, imma hafna minnhom jibzghu jghidu li “ir-re Gharwien”.Ma’ certu tip ta’ nies tiskanta kemm ma’ trid xejn biex issoddilhom hallqhom , bizzejjed twieghedhom wiehed wiehed li ghandhom chairmanship lest ghalihom mat-tali Awtorita jew mas-Central Bank jew posizzjoni fl-Universita , jekk nitilghu ahna. Filli tarahom ‘newtrali’ u filli tisma b’xi zball li qed jaghmel il-gvern zgur li m’humiex xi Vaclav Havel .Allura ried ikun tifel (jew ahjar IT-TFAL TAGHNA) biex jghidu lir-RE li kien gharwien, u r-re ha ghalih.L-unici “intellettwali li huma bla hajta fi lsienhom, huma qassisin li jghidu li jridu jghidu minghajr hafna dawrien mal-lewza Peter Seracino Inglott , Rene’ Camilleri , Joe Borg u Mark Montebello. Ma tantx ghandhom irbit.Ma tonqosx l-artikolista (kulltant bla brejkijiet) DCG.
    Ta’ l-ahhar, in-naqra laham griza go rasna iccaqlaqulna sew u tnehhielna hafna inibizzjonijiet li gieli kellna.Mhux dejjem naqbel ma’ li tghid imma iggaghalni nahseb.Ghax nghid jien x’inhu xoghol l-intellettwali? Inutli li l-intellettwali ikollu hsibijiet sbieh u jhallihom ghal meta jaqbillu biex jghidhom.”Xemx li ma’ ssahhanx ahjar il-bard ta’ Jannar minnha”. Erba’ qassisin , mara irqieqa , u kocc studenti din id-darba ghamlu hafna xoghol li is-sppost intellettwali kellhom jaghmlu.
    Minn part time lecturer fl-universita li kien jikteb nhar ta’ sibt kull ma’ qrajt kienu vavati li jghidu f’kazin politiku .L-ahhar wahda kienet twissija lil Sant biex joqghod attent ghal xi TERRINATA nahseb li Fredu fehmu bil-kontra ghax ghamel wahda lil JPO.Dalwaqt narawh head tal -fakulta. Jew?
    Kellu jigi wiehed barrani tal Greens biex jghid lil MLP li s-surcharge bin -nofs huwa hazin?
    Fejn kienu it-taparsi ekonomisti li dalwaqt narawhom jghidulna min se jirbah l-elezzjoni?
    Ma trid xejn biex narawh Gvernatur!

  15. NoComment says:

    Daphne,

    I posted your url in elezjoni2008.com forum at 12.54pm today as shown below. Is it a coincidence that your site server was hacked at 13.15pm? I think not. This so called independent forum is loaded with mlp followers. I guess it is as independent as l-orrizont newspaper say they are. If we boo they insult us hamalli and kannoli bla krema, etc,, if we write they try to shut us down. Nice Mlp. Sometimes i get this feeling that we are not an eu country and that i’m not living in 2008

    Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:54 pm Post subject:

    ——————————————————————————–

    http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/

  16. Ignazio Fenech says:

    Witty, pungent yet, oh-so true! I’m incredulous at the fact that some people are willing to vote for Sant! I was 8 when he was elected, yet I remember what gloomy days they were. I remember my mother sitting at the kitchen table, crying over the tragedy that ha befallen us, my father coming home some 6 months later telling us the company he worked for had gone bankrupt but also the breath of fresh air Sant’s fall from grace was! Do people forget all these things; or do they just like to self-inflict pain? Sant came up with the most ridiculous things ever; I mean honestly, a FRONT DOOR tax? What’s next? Having to pay to walk on pavements or to breathe air? Now PN is once again elected, I can come here and say these things without fear and with ‘NO REGRETS’ but had MLP secured the throne, I would have probably been packing my life in a suitcase and emigrating to somewhere very, very far.

    P.S. My friend who lives abroad thinks you’re “fab”!

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