Prosy points
It seems that we Maltese are as efficient as ever at exporting our involvement in sex and the low-life high-life. And maybe now it’s Fiji rather than Soho. It’s been reported by The Fiji Times that a ‘Maltese businessman’ (funny how it’s always a businessman and never just a crook) has been arrested at his home in Fiji with five homemade porn films and plenty of home-brewed water of life. The newspaper reported that the Maltese businessman accepted ‘anything’ in payment for his alcohol. Hmmm. Makes you wonder. Apparently, it’s all to do with the high excise tax on legal alcohol. And so a man from Malta moved in and helped fill the gap in the market. He’s my contemporary. I wonder if it’s anyone I know?
The billboard that former Labour deputy leader Michael Falzon said meant trouble is up in court alongside the officials who commissioned it. The prime minister testified yesterday. He explained that he felt libelled because his photograph was slap bang in the middle of that board along with a legend that shouted about corruption. He said he felt insulted, as a politician, by that accusation. As a politician? How about as Lawrence Gonzi, the man? The prime minister confirmed that he knows himself to be ultimately responsible for the behaviour of his ministers, and said that every time he received intimation of corruption, he ordered an investigation by the competent authorities.
Ah, that billboard….yet another example of Jason Micallef’s apparent policy of acting now and thinking later.
Ah, I see that the Labour Party has brought together a number of people to draw up a code of ethics for its television, radio and newspapers – or rather, for the people who work for them. The group is led by Carmen Sammut, a redoubtable woman whose judgement I respect, and one of the few people in the country who is actually fully qualified, from an academic perspective, to do the job. The other members include Joe (Peppi) Azzopardi, an obvious sop to Joseph Muscat’s bzar fl-ghajnejn peace ‘n’ love bandwagon and one which Azzopardi shouldn’t have taken up, because you are either a current broadcaster or a person who seeks to control and regulate current broadcasters but you can’t be both. Then there’s Charles Flores, a nice enough man by all accounts, but one who was part of the Xandir Malta machine in the days of its darkest excesses. There’s Roger Mifsud, who was at The Times, and Joe Vella, who was at Union Press, about both of whom I have nothing worth saying.
The point I must make is this. Having a code of ethics is one thing. Sticking to it is quite another. A code of ethics is not a set of rules and regulations. Adherence to it is entirely optional. It should not take a code of ethics to teach grown men and women how to behave. It should be obvious to them. And if it is not obvious to them, then they are in the wrong job. Or maybe not, given that the raison d’etre of a party media machine is far different from the raison d’etre of the privately-owned media. The agenda of the latter is to make money through keeping people informed and entertained. The agenda of the former is to help the political party get elected to government. In that kind of situation, anything is grist to their mill. Any code of ethics is going to be trampled into the mud of an electoral campaign. All’s fair in love and Maltese politics.
Oh, and another thing. Joseph Muscat would do well to spare us the hypocrisy, which is already extremely tiresome after just a week. He built his political career as editor of Maltastar.com, workhorse for Super One radio and television and commentator for L-orizzont. That’s hardly a stellar trajectory in the field of media ethics. If he believed in ethics, he was perfectly placed to practise them then, instead of preaching them now. Love is all you need….
Air Malta carried just over three thousand people back to Malta on its special-price flights, to vote in the general election. I can see Evarist Bartolo salivating already – that is, if he could be bothered to continue grinding this particular axe, given that he no longer has a personal electoral campaign to work on. They included 1,685 people brought over from the UK (one of them was his daughter who studies there) and 274 from Belgium, the new hub of Maltese expatriates.
The information was given in parliament, in reply to a question by the highly intelligent and thoroughly gelled Silvio Parnis, who has now taken a five-year break from handing out Chinese plastic roses to ladies at the school gates. I can already see the thought patterns forming here: iss hej, if it weren’t for those people, Labour would have won the election. Let’s do whatever we can to stop people voting if they don’t live here. Voting at Malta’s embassies, by post or down the Internet? You must be joking.
The Labour Party has approved Charles Mangion as leader of the Opposition. Well, I’m sorry to have to point out that it’s the head of state who approves the Opposition leader and not the head of the party. And they didn’t even have the good grace to go through the formal channels and ask him.
It was all done to avoid having the elephant-riding Anglu Farrugia as leader of the Opposition until Joseph Muscat decides to wrench himself away from whatever it is he loves doing in Brussels (writing a report, apparently). That’s the first piece of good sense I have seen manifested by the Labour Party in a long time. The last thing this country needs is a long, hot summer of Farrugia’s self-described ‘ferocious speeches’, in between bouts of riding elephants in India and reporting to the Paraventu the sale of votes by drug addicts to agents of the Nationalist Party. It’s safe to say that this kind of thing wouldn’t be great for Labour’s long-tattered image. The suggestion to have Mangion stay on in that position came from Farrugia himself, or so we were told. Perhaps he needs the time to work on those reports for the Paraventu. Perhaps he has heard of some more interesting rumours about the theft of voting documents from little old ladies and nursing mothers.
The Labour Party is now in the very interesting position of having a leader, two deputy leaders, and a leader of the opposition – proving that many heads don’t necessarily make for the equivalent number of brains.
This article is published in The Malta Independent today.
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So the MLP is employing Peppi Azzopardi of Where’s Everybody to tell its journalists how to act? After they keep calling WE unethical in everything they do?
[Moderator – Yes, and after Peppi wrote this letter about Charles Flores.]
Daphne – on Dissett Joe Saliba stated that Sec Gen’s had to declare their earnings/assets….any idea what Jason’s looks like….I am sooooo curious.
@ xaghra
I am more curious to know the past earnings of Joseph from his public role of mep. From his lifestyle as potrayed in last week’s xarabank he did quite well.
I thank Peppi for his letter on last Sunday’s Illum. It helped to remind us in the dark old days when Xandir Malta (better k/a Dardir Malta) used to function like the Pravda, the leading newspaper of the then communist Soviet Union.
Now some questions about Peppi’s role on the new ethics board:
1) How a person like Peppi accepted to serve on a board which is more like ‘dahk fil-wicc’?
2) How Peppi is going to work with persons like Flores who definately preaches one thing but practises another?
3) Has Peppi forgot that as the person responsable for the program Xarabank, he is regarded by most of the Labour flock, as a ‘persona non grata’?
@ xaghra
on Dissett Joe Saliba also said JPO should resign – wonder how daphne’s face was like when her beloved party announced something like that publicly ouchh :(
@Xaghra
Lm 19,000.00
@M – Daphne hasn’t seen the show yet (I plan to watch it on di-ve) but I can assure you that it won’t bother me at all. I don’t have a ‘beloved party’, and just in case you have failed to read most of what I have written over the last 18 years, the fact that I disagree with several attitudes, approaches and policies of the Nationalist Party makes no difference at all to my wish to vote for that party. As an intelligent person who makes intelligent decisions some of the time – I emphasise that to irritate Labour and AD supporters – I know that there are only two choices for government, so I act to ensure that the better one gets in.
Ethics are always determined by the need of a group/society.
Like morality they are seldom followed by those who
advocate/impose them.
It seems like Peppi wants to ‘survive’ under a future Labour government.
Reading Peppi Azzopardi’s letter brought back awful memories of the 1980s under Old Labour. Still it takes guts on Muscat’s part to put someone with a history like Azzopardi’s on the MLP’s ethics commission. If that is not evidence of New Labour I don’t know what is.
[Moderator – In that case, why did he put Charles Flores?]
@Gozitano
What is it? Are you afraid of losing Peppi as your rock, or what? Was very comfortable till now, huh? All good things come to an end, though.
@Caphenni
What is so irritating in this? You are perhaps afraid that the total control of the media by the PN might be in danger? Well, yes, it is! And too bloody late. Peppi, who wants everyone to believe his is a most fair and objective journalist had no choice but to accept the offer made by Joseph. Just admit that Joseph outmanoeuvered Peppi. U daqshekk! The days when the PN guys think they can dictate the national agenda are over, or close.
@me
Ok, so what do you do? Should be have a society without any ethics or morals? Or maybe without laws at all. Interesting that such ideas are being expressed on a PN-friendly blog.
@xaghra
Dear Xaghra, on Dissett, Joe Saliba DID NOT SAY that JPO should resign!!! He said that if he was in JPO’s place, he would resign. He was talking about himself NOT about what JPO should do. You must be a labour supporter definitely…always understanding situations the other way round.
Peppi Azzopardi can’t even pronounce “DVD” or “dinner”, and now he’s writing a report. Great merciful heavens.
First we should publicly chastise Joe Saliba for expressing a personal opinion. Then we should process him before a Bord ta Dixxiplina and ostracize him from the Party.
Do you see a whole bunch of PN elves jumping in to put down Joe Saliba? No? THAT is one of the major differences between the PN and the MLP. You are entitled to your opinion within the PN.
Whether JPO resigns or not makes no difference as to who will be governing the country for the next 5 years, so stop hoping!
Why should MLP journalists have another code of ethics ?Is Joseph trying to hold them accountable for what they do in private?
As far as I know Peppi does not like any leashes on journalists.
@Albert Farrugia
You ask us to “Just admit that Joseph outmanoeuvered Peppi. U daqshekk!” – you assume that Peppi and Joseph were playing some sort of cat and mouse game. Did it even dawn on you that Joseph might have wanted to ‘legitimize’ his committee by nominating an MLP critic and that critic simply accepted. Does there have to be some form of payback?
Interesting question I have for DCG though. If you were asked onto that committee, would you accept in principle (ie assuming you could work with the others etc etc)?
I was browsing through the MLP Election report, and I came across this little gem:
“Skond J.L Irving (1972, Victims of Groupthink, New York, Hougħton Mifflin) gruppi fejn in-nies
ikollhom l-istess ideat u interessi, faċli jinsulaw irwiehom mill-opinjoni tan-nies tat-triq u jibdew
jinfluwenzaw lil xulxin b’mod li jieħdu deċiżjonijiet ħżiena għaliex titnaqqrilhom il-ħila li jaħsbu b’mod
kreattiv u l-kapaċità li jżommu saqajhom ma’ l-art biex jagħmlu l-aħjar deċiżjonijiet u ġudizzji.”
http://www.mlp.org.mt/rizorsi/dokumenti/downloads/MLP_election_report_May08.pdf
I thought it was a perfect description of DCG and her groupies on this blog.
[Moderator – Actually, that comment is referring to the Malta Labour Party. Do you know what a groupie is?]
There’s a difference between laws and ethics. One needs to study/learn legislation, or some aspects one uses in daily life – e.g. the Highway Code. Ethics aren’t something that one studies or learns; one just behaves in an ethical way. Or to put it in another way: one may be unwittingly contravening/breaking a law, but if one is being unethical, one will know it. (Admitting is a different kettle of piranha). Other than being a publicity stunt, the people who run the show often see a code of ethics as another means for disciplining those who might annoy them. It’s good business for advisors and consultants though.
@Albert Farrugia
Read history and if you are not one of those who enjoys to hear the echo of his speech in his empty skull, you will understand exactly the meaning of me previous entry.
Do not try to tie me up with ‘pn friendly blog’ rethoric. I am as free from any ties as one can ever be, be they political or religious. On the contrary to what you make yourself to be. Only morons need sets of rules without which they are lost in their actions and thinking.
Basic elementary test: Do you need the law or religion to tell you that killing or stealing is unlawfull? Do you need the traffic code to tell you that over-speeding is dangerous to you and pedestrians?
Do you need a code of ethics to tell you that the way that certain media functions/ed is not as it should be?
Do you mean to say that before any religions or laws was enacted all was bad? Read the news, read history.
No wonder your line of thought always follows the same point in space. You cannot think outside the box, which points out that any grey matter that you might have in your brain box must have been blown in there accidentally by the wind.
@Xaghra: no, I wouldn’t accept an invitation to sit on Joseph Muscat’s ethics board. Joseph Muscat doesn’t have the guts to try asking for the simple reason that he knows I would put the phone down. Muscat’s sudden decision to play at Jesus Christ Superstar does nothing to change his recent past or his real character. It does nothing to change the fact that the Labour Party has been monstrous, right up until three months ago. The only thing that Joseph Muscat would want from having me on that board is my credibility, which he would use to legitimise it. I would be entirely lacking in dignity and commonsense to lend my credibility to a political party that has been so utterly disgusting up until now, and that has done its best to trample me into the mud.
For those same reasons, I think Joe Azzopardi was ill-advised to accept – unless, of course, he is building bridges for commercial reasons. Fortunately, I have no need of that because I am not dependent on state television.
@me
I`ll just ignore your insults. But just come clean on this: do you believe in a society not bound by any ethical or moral laws?
@Ganni Borg – you are very ill-informed. I make my living from picking up the zeitgeist (the spirit of the times), so I am not susceptible to group-think as it would be suicide. You picked up that comment from the Labour Party’s election defeat report, and it is a clear reference to the Labour Party’s officials.
@Tony Muscat
I never mentioned JPO in this blog so not sure what you are on about. Suggest you use Ctrl F to locate all JPO’s entries and who they are attributed to.
Look before you leap…………….
Dear (im)moderator – it is highly ulikely that there is anything you can each me about the usage of the English language.
Please note that most words, like groupie, have a metaphorical ae well as a literal meaning.
@Albert Farrugia
The point is not whether I believe or not. The fact is that ethics and morals have always been devised according to a point in time by persons who seldom adhere to what they enact and keep themselves above the same rules. This applies to religions and politics.
Ganni Borg – don’t be patronising. In common usage, groupie has only one meaning. In fact, I would be hard-pressed to find a literal meaning. Like most elves, your appreciation of your own genius blinds you to its limitations.
@ Xaghra … Joe Saliba was expressing simply his personal opinion. You and your likes should thank him not only for his services but for not making public the reasons why he resigned.It is quite evident you have not the slightest idea what ‘really goes on within the PN”! (By the way, your nick,XAGHRA is the MOST WONDERFUL PLACE in Gozo.)Capish man?
@ Daphne … Would you change your reasoning if/when DR. Mario Demarco is Capo? I truely wonder how you would behave!
” Putting the phone down” is crude and rude. ” No. Thank you.” is much more appropriate. Have you lost your manners too?
Daphne seems that she cannot understand simple maths.Joseph + Peppi makes two Josephs hux jew two Peppis! lol
@me
The fact is that there can be no justice and fairness – values upon which i assume we agree – without ethics and morality, which give us a yardstick against which actions can be measured. Do you know that there is a Code of Ethics for MPs, for judges, for ministers. Why is it that the concept of having a Code of Ethics is now being questioned,just because the MLP intends drawing up one?
Dear Mr Borg Cardona – you need to update you vocabulary – things have moved on since P.J’s (and P.G.s) time, you know.
The literal meaning of “groupie” is someone who travels with a band and has sexual relations with the members.
The word has now taken on a metaphorical meaning, and is used to refer to someone with an exagerated admiration of some role model or celebrity. A perfect description of most of the posters on this blog.
And I object to being accused of being patronising by someone who has turned being patronising into a fine art.
Motes and beams, Boċċ – motes and beams.
@ Albert Farrugia … JPO is to issue a ‘white paper’ on Mp’s Code of ethics in the near future.
Ninu Zammit, Giovanna, L. Galea, Bastjan Dalli and Zeppi l-Hafi are among those helping JPO in building the above mentioned white Paper.
I hope no one questions JPO’s and the panel’s good intentions!
@Peter Muscat
@Tony Muscat
(Same person?)
READ MY LIPS – I NEVER (mis)quoted Joe Saliba in relation to JPO. ‘m’ was the one that (mis)quoted Joe Saliba so please direct your weak barbs at him/her not moi! Kapixx???
Peter (yeah right!) why don’t you tell us the REAL reason for Joe Saliba’s resignation – go on – we are so tense waiting for you to reveal what sits in that confused mind of yours!
@DCG
Thanks for your thoughts on ethics board.
@ those who believe we are Daphne’s groupies.
We are all expressing personal opinions here. All of us. Including Daphne. The only thing I can say is that Daphne has given us the space. Thats a measure of the woman, if anything. I can’t say I agree with everything she says or puts down to paper, because I dont. I do agree with her on certain issues. The building up of the The One by our resident pointy-ears brigade for one. The ‘orrible mess that was and is the MLP for another. The fact that history is not there to be forgotten, but is a very good pointer to the present, especially when it comes to people who made it and are still around. I certainy don’t agree with DCG’s sometimes classist remarks, or her implied belief in some kind of breeding programme that makes you stand out. But it doesnt mean I dont write here. I abhor absolutism, and the internet has given us the medium to say exactly what we feel without fear or favour. It is just true, however, that the Pen is Mightier than the sword. And the people who fear us and our pen or keyboard, try and stop us, by fair means or foul. That means attacking Daphne or myself and anyone who in some way is less than impressed by The One and his acolytes / comedians , or else Pepsodent Smile . Yes we can comment. Does not mean we have to be cloned. So no, We are not groupies of La Daph, but I bet the Elves’ club are of La Benoit!
Hey, don’t bother betting on it. La Benoit, the 1940 baby, is definitely lijder of the Elves’club :) :)
Mr Mario Debono took almost 270 words to tell us that all those who follow DCG are free spirits who just happen to agree with her while all those who do not are elves. And that there all sorts of conspiracies to limit his use of the pen or keyboard.
Nice one. :) :)
If you bloggers can see my name pls take a look at Lorna Vassallo’s contribution in L-Orrizont today. Very interesting read!! Shows she has more then just bright white teeth!!
@Moderator. It will be interesting to see how Flores and Azzopardi work together on this commission.
@ isa
I am impressed. Didnt know the girl hd it in her.
@Ganni Borg. I write. And I will keep on writing. But its been amply proven that the ponty-ears brigade is back big time. And I’m pretty sure who’s leading it.
@ganni Borg
At least, i dont hide behind a nom de plume, like you seem to like doing.
@Ganni Borg.
Maybe your definition of groupie nees some moderation. What about this?
“The literal meaning of “groupie” is someone who travels with a band and tries to have sexual relations with the members.”
So, by dint of my interpretation, if we are by some wild strech of imagination groupes of Daphne, who (or What!) are the Elves’ club groupies of? And who are they trying to have sex with?
As you seem to belong there, maybe you might care to enlighten us? :) :)
there, it took me less than 270 words to write that.
Watch it, Mario – according to ABC, the word “groupie” does not have a literal meaning. You dont want to fall foul of the 2IC of this blog, do you now?
:)
@Albert Farrugia
Total control of the media? The PN?
Everybody with eyes, ears and a brain knows that that’s an untrue statement.
What planet are you living on? Don’t insult our intelligence and the memory of the slime your party dragged this country through. Everybody with eyes, ears and a brain knows that that’s an untrue statement.
Total control of the media is when you ban non-government broadcasting of any kind. When the state broadcasting is not allowed to mention the opposition. When events are reported as the exact opposite as happened. When you publicly state that you will use the state media to bring up a ‘socialist generation’. When you incite the mob to a level that they end up burning down the free press.
In other words, the last time the MLP was in control of government for any meaningful period of time. And Zimbabwe today
Ganni. i cant imagine what you are talking about. 21C??????????
[Moderator – Second-in-command, or 2IC to those who take pleasure in being cryptic.]
The pen of the PN biased columnists is sharper than that of the MLP biased columnists…ergo the PN has taken full control of the media!!
Same sort of thinking as “we nearly won the election so we should be consulted on everything and anything….”
Get your act together and one day you will govern. I know you will; just taking a lot longer than anyone anticipated! Sigh!
Ganni Borg – your literal and your metaphorical meanings are as far apart from each other as the difference between the MLP under Dr CMJ Muscat and Dr A Sant.
That’s right – it’s army slang.
@ Moderator….O I C.
@Ganni Borg. You havent answered my question. As for falling foul, its not as if she’s going to stop me posting, is it?
@Andrew Borg-Cardona. Are you the ABC who is the President of the Chamber of Advocates? If so, do you think it is compatible with your position to take such a politically partisan attitude in your contributions to this and other blogs. After all you are head of an organization that has members of all political beliefs and none. In my opinion you should endeavour to be independent while holding the position that you do. After your term of office is up then you can become as political as you want to.
Dictionary
groupie |ˈgroōpē|
noun informal
a person, esp. a young woman, who regularly follows a pop music group or other celebrity in the hope of meeting or getting to know them.
• [with adj. ] often derogatory an enthusiastic or uncritical follower : the contemporary art groupie.
Uncle Fester. Just because he is something of a president, isnt he entitled to his opinions? Or are we to become a state where you cant have any? Or is a person to be judged by the opinion he holds? At least, at the very least, he doesnt hide behind a pseudonym. Like you do. Courage means not hiding behind paraventi……for all we know you might be Idi Amin in drag!!!!
I agree with Mario Debono. After all, who gives a whim about whether someone’s opinion is that of the president of the chamber of advocates, or of the president of the chamber of poop-sweepers? Every president of whatever body is entitled to his/her own political opinion. The only exception is the president of the republic, and that’s because it’s in the interest of the country as a whole. Thankfully.
Lol on a lighter note (why blog if not for the sheer fun and amusement of it?), who’s ready to bet all their life’s earnings that ABC would still opine against the MLP even if he were made the president of the…. MLP itself??? :D
[Moderator – How many times do I have to say this: the medium is the message. A political opinion from the president of the Chamber of Advocates is going to be taken a whole lot more seriously than one from the president of the Malta Floral Club. Now, if the opinion were about how best to grow hyacinths, that would be the other way around. Another thing: people aren’t ‘entitled’ to opinions because they can’t help having them.]
@ Mario Debono and Tony Pace – “Ganni Borg” is, in my opinion, a woman. Most comments posted in the same style tend to have noms-de-plume with the initials “MB” or at least “something B”. No prizes for guessing who that could be. Well, either her, or one of the other sourpusses.
@Uncle Fester
Are you by any chance a civil servant? That is the only reason i can give for your last comment:
“Are you the ABC who is the President of the Chamber of Advocates? If so, do you think it is compatible with your position to take such a politically partisan attitude in your contributions to this and other blogs.”
I’m no advocate, but isn’t the president of the Chamber of Advocates elected by Advocates themselves. ABC has been taking the mickey out of the Labour Party for more years then I’ve got teeth.
I think they know what they voted for.
Are there any other positions which you think are incompatible with having a political opinion. Ah yes, I’ve got one, Prime minister perhaps?
Good night!
Uncle Fester: You’re confusing independence with neutrality. The President of the Chamber of Advocates is not paid by any political party. And why should anyone keep quiet about their political opinions, anyway?
@Mario Debono, chris I, Corinne Vella – My reasoning for believing that the President of the Chamber of Advocates, as representative of all the country’s advocates, should not publicly express party political opinions is just based on that silly notion that the law is supposed to be impartial. Absolutely amazing and earth shattering concept I know. Fancy that – the President of the body of individuals given the privilege and duty (warrant) of representing the interests of citizens before our impartial tribunals should strive to be impartial in all his public utterances. And we are actually disputing this? Lord have mercy.
Mario Debono – if I ever dress up in drag (because as people like you know all homosexuals do that on a regular basis and molest little boys as well – that’s just the way it is) I would look a darn sight better than Idi Amin.
Uncle Fester: Why press the point if the notion is silly?
@Corinne Vella. Tongue was firmly planted in cheek.
Uncle Fester: Was your tongue in your cheek when you were cross dressing or when you gave your president a dressing down? You’re now going to suggest that lawyers should not enter politics. Whatever next? People with PhDs should not be party leaders?