I'm getting all angry and upset watching Xarabank
Published:
October 31, 2008 at 10:59pm
And I hope the ‘u ejja, come on, people, it’s all over’ brigade of buffoons are watching it. I’m dying to read their newspaper columns this Sunday – “U ajma, what a fuss! Reopening old wounds! Why don’t we talk about electricity rates instead!” Why, indeed.
It’s a bloody shame Joe Azzopardi didn’t think to include Anglu Farrugia in that discussion group. Or Joseph Muscat. I’d like to have seen him get down on his knees and kiss the hands of those two victims of his glorious Labour Party – ja zibel li kienu u ghadhom.
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Le tinsolentax iz-zibel. Kif ma jisthux. Min jaf x’jidkhu Psaila, Bonello u Pullicin li l-istat se jhallax ghal ghemilhom. U xi nghidu ghall hmieg ta’ ministri li kellna dak iz zmien u li Joseph Muscat rega laqgha bid-idejh miftuha. Ir-Rumanija ghamlu sew ghax lil Ceaucescu tawh li haqqu u mhux mijjiet ta l-eluf tal-Euros.
Am I wrong or did Maltastar not even report a line on Mifsud?
[Daphne – Because to its toby-jug editor Kurt Farrugia, my 19-year-old son telling him to fuck off (pity he didn’t tell him to go and fuck himself, which would have made far better television) is Big News and the crimes perpetrated by the Labour government and its police force are not. I’m so glad Xarabank produced this programme.]
Ghadni kif spiccajt nara Xarabank. Xi zminijiet koroh ghal Malta kienu s -snin 80… il-konkluzjoni tieghi hi wahda: kif nista’ qatt nivvota Labour meta fottewli l-ahjar snin ta’ zoghziti!!
Funny. How come no comments yet on this from those who vehemently defend the MLP and see good in all that the party does and has ever done?
Maybe they have finally seen their party in its true light and curled up in shame?
Micheal A Vella – You must be an eternal optimist!
Watching what others passed through when we were infants should send shivers down our spine…. lest we forget.
Shame on the Maltese State which for 28 years used all its power to try to extinguish all the attempts by Mr Mifsud to obtain justice. Shame on the Maltese State for destroying the life of one of its law-abiding citizens and using all of its legal power to try to hide its criminal hand. Yes, I talk of the Maltese STATE (which we usually call il-Gvern”). Which in the last 28 years has been controlled both by the MLP as well as the PN. In different ways they BOTH tried to stifle an innocent man’s pleas for justice. In spite of what people usually think, there is no “MLP Gov” or “PN Gov”. There is only THE STATE. And the State is 100 per cent responsible for what it does, and for what HAS BEEN done in its name.
Two questions: how come some of the police officers mentioned even took promotions post 1987? (One of them, who has since died, was appointed head of an institution which TRAINS police officers).
Secondly, I think Dr Tonio Azzopardi was not entirely correct yesterday when he said that the Commissioner of Police, as represented in the case instituted by Mr Mifsud, was representing the Maltese State.
For the Commissioner mentioned, Lawrence Pullicino, has appealed the sentence, in his own name. So what does the “exclusive news item” on Xarabank that the “Gvern” will not appeal, mean? In short, I strongly suspect that once again this is ALL SPIN. NO SUBSTANCE.
For justice to be done to Mr Mifsud, the Maltese STATE has to pay compensation without any delay.
The PN has been trying to score political points out of this case for two decades. Indeed, they owe so much of their power to this lone, broken and unconnected man. They have been very successful in this. Still, the stark truth is that it did NOTHING to bring at least a modicum of justice to this innocent man.
Michael A. Vella
You will get your reply from Sunday’s newspapers because first they have to agree on ‘il-linja tal-partit’ and then we will have a chorus for a whole week.
Daphne – you got all angry and upset on watching Xarabank. I got disgusted and almost threw up.
I wanted to watch. It was a must and yet I wish I did not have to.
is there any psychiatrist who can spare some time and explain to me the behaviour of Mark Montebello? (Words, body language, reasoning – imsomma the whole lot.)
And another thing. It always amazes me how history unfolds. This court sentence came exactly a week after Mintoff got his prize (and money). Qisu Alla ma hamilx li jhalli daqshekk ipokrisija tghaddi lixxa!
What a disgusting “spectacle”, watching Fr. Mark Robin Hood Montebello is. Instead of outrightly condemning the filth and shameful events that were the order of the day in the 80’s, he has the nerve to try and draw parallels between the shambles that was the police force from 1981-1987, and what it is today!And this cowboy is a messenger of God is he? Then again, he has as much credibility and coherence as the party he supports.
It is really no wonder the MLP(or is it Partit Laburista now?)keep inventing one “bidu gdid” after another, because episodes like that of Anthony Mifsud and Pietru Pawl Busuttil, only two in a long chain, should make them cringe in shame, and try to camouflage their red faces with their red flags. What with a list of “accomplishments” that would be right up there with Ceasescu’s, you would think that Malta’s biggest fiasco as a Prime Minister, Dr. KMB, would have the decency to hide away in some cave and never show his face again. Sopra i corni bastonati, he ends up receiving awards for human rights, even if on behalf of his mentor, the great old Dom!
Maybe while he was making his speech whilst receiving the award,somebody should have been showing a film of the smashed Law Courts and Curia, for which Lorry Pullicino and his gang of bullies never arrested anyone. What between beating the guts out of one person, and plotting frame-ups on another, there can’t have been too much time left to see to these frivolous matters. And Fr.Mark wants to try and compare those days to these?! Forget the “bidu gdid”, these people truly never change.
Filwaqt li nikkundanna dak li seta gara fil-passat, nikkundana wkoll dawn l-aggettivi dispregattivi li s-sinjura Daphne ghogobha ssejjah lil Laburisti – ‘Zibel’! U nilghabuha tal high class u ta ntelligenti! Heh!!
Dil-hafna arja u ‘superiority complex’ ghax kontu furtunati u l-partit tieghek nzerta rebah bi ftit mijiet ta voti ma nistax nifhimha jien.
Ftakar li f’Malta maw hadd cittadin tat-tieni klassi u alkemm inti ghandek id dritt tghid li trid, hadd ma jtik id dritt li tghajjar lil haddiehor ‘zibel’.
Veru li f’Malta ghadna elf sena lura, bil blu jghajjru lil homor. Meta se nikbru?
Grazzi.
[Daphne – Go off and learn how to spell what is probably the only language you can speak. I’m not going to correct your mistakes, because they’re the perfect example of the inadequacies of somebody who insists on speaking and writing Maltese even in English-language forums, to make a point, while not bothering to actually learn the language properly.]
Hands off Daphne. She is a fearless, brillant journalist. I suppose you use the spell check to get what you write correct. J.B.
Hamalli kienu w hamalli jibqghu – minn fuq l-isfel.
I agree with Matthew Bonello 100%. Fr. Mark Montebello has lost the little bit of respect he enjoyed by conducting himself in such an asinine manner on Xarabank.
His statement that he does not trust authority of any sort including the CHURCH made my head spin. He would not be drawn into making comparison of the Malta Police today as opposed to the Police force in Mintoff and KMB’s time! He could not come to admit that the incidents which occurred in the 70s and 80s simply do not happen any more and have not happened since 1987. He does not accept the results of two independent inquiries because ‘he does not trust them’. He only seems to trust himself!
I wonder whether the Archbishop was watching this miserable spectable by Fr. Mark.
I was particularly annoyed when the presenter and the other three panelists tried so much to sugar coat the tirade by Fr. Mark.
Maybe all four were terribly embarrassed!
@ Matthew Bonello
“What a disgusting spectacle, watching Fr. Mark Robin Hood Montebello is” ,
Fr. Mark Montebello a disgusting spectacle? I disagree. He was the only person on the programme who had the guts to stand up to Police Commissioner Rizzo. Are we really living in a such a different era from the 80s? Remember that a French pensioner was attacked by a policeman while in her own car, if a foreign student hadn’t captured the incident on video and posted it on Youtube we would probably have never found out about it. What about a young father dying while under police custody ? (Nicholas Azzopardi) If it wasn’t for his brave brother we would never have found out what happened to him, and what about the witnessed vicious attacks by police on defenceless immigrants in Paceville? If it wasn’t for a couple of courageous university students who approached the St Julian’s police station these immigrants may be dead today.
Not to mention the spectacle we saw in Floriana of police standing by and joking with violent bus-driver thugs during the strike.
Where was inspector Rizzo in the 1980s while all the abuse was happening? He was a blue-eyed seargent rapidly climbing the ranks of power in the police depot. He cannot wash his hands of the whole incidents. Where was he when the Curia was attacked?
Where was he in the 80s when a schoolboy was dragged into the police depot overnight in an attempt to elicit a confession to a small scratch on the commissioners car?
That’s the kind of man we now have leading the police force.
Matthew, the only disgusting spectacle I saw on xarabank was the Comissioner and his sidekick attempt to intimidate Fr Montebello, it was like were back to the old times.
Where is the compassionate and approachable police commissioner all deserve? Even if Fr Montebello was somewhat emotional at times and got carried away, the proper response by a Police Commissioner worth his salt would be to reassure Fr Montebello and the watching public, rather than launch an aggressive and intimidating counteroffensive on Fr Montebello. Contrast the way the English Police Commissioner handled media interviews after the Brazilian was shot on the underground in London. Our police commissioner has a lot to learn!
Gonzi take heed, remove these bad apples from your key posts like the army and police , and place moderate and empathic people in their stead , because such leaders will may be your downfall. And Joseph Muscat take heed, many of us don’t care hoot about electricity surcharges, tackle the prime minister on things we really care about, like security, health and justice. Otherwise the labour party will slide into deeper and deeper recesses and the PN will get more and more arrogant.
And fr Montebello keep up the good work and keep defending the weak, you have showed courage in attacking even your own superiors , the Church hieracrhcy, when you felt you had to, don’t let the police commissioner intimidate you.
D Falzon – “Filwaqt li nikkundanna dak li seta gara fil-passat”
“SETA gara”, do you really mean that? Are you implying that all the stories told here are fiction?
Fiction – or total obliteration of FACTS – was what you were probably fed by the Labour media in those days. The fact that http://www.Maltastar.com didn’t even report the FACT that Anthony Mifsud was awarded compensation for his torture, etc, just proves my point. They think that ignoring the fact will make the general public think that his sad case never existed. Thankfully, many of us know otherwise, and will damn well make sure that future generations never forget such shocking incidents, lest history repeats itself. With people like you around, it’s no wonder that Labour has been in opposition for so long.
The MLP has vainly attempted a ‘new beginning’ for the past 20 years now. The only way they can possibly succeed in this is to publicly dissociate themselves once and for all from their party’s and their party leaders’ rotten past. The few MLP sympathisers with an iota of grey matter are the ones who appear on programmes like Xarabank. The rest, the vast majority, are headless chickens through no fault of their own. To those who come on the media attempting to whitewash their party’s ignoble past I say : to err is acceptable, to persist in error out of passion is downright sickening. With apologies to St Augustine of Hippo !!
D Falzon…
‘Kif ha nikbru?’ tistaqsina lkoll…
ara ha nibda minnek…
Ghalfejn ma tmurx l-iskola tan-nuna u titghallem l-ABC u fejn jigu u ma jigux?
Seems that no-one is interested in at least TRYING to answer some questions which would come to mind any level-headed person. So here goes:
1) If the Commissioner of Police, as Mifsud’s lawyer said, was actually representing his department, that is, the Maltese State, in this case, how come that Dr Lawrence Pullicino PERSONALLY appealed the sentence while on Xarabank it was so solemnly announced that “il-Gvern” has decided not to appeal?
2) How come the PN, which has been in control of the Maltese State for over 20 years now, NEVER accepted to give compensation to Mifsud, considering that (as Dione Borg said in Xarabank) this poor guy suffered from a POLITICAL crime. Why did the PN simply refer the case to the normal juridical and administrative setup? The PN took over the Maltese State in 1987, and thus assumed ALL responsibilites pertaining to it, INCLUDING the misdeeds of its officials.
Surely only the politically blindfolded do not see that there is some terribly-smelling rat somewhere. Yes, there were many ZIBEL around, but they might still be much closer to power than we might believe.
I remember an acquaintance who used to boast that during mass meetings,way back in the good old days (the 1980’s), he used to expose himself while riding on trucks. His greatest pleasure at the time was directing his ‘orgasmic endeavours’ towards the so called pigs’ wives, mothers and daughters.
[Daphne – More sex and violence….]
Daphne, I share your views on this horrific time during the Labour years. I was so distraught I couldn’t sleep the night after I watched Ix-Xarabank. Prosit lil Peppi and his group. However, I have some questions that are puzzling me:
Have the media ever reported the names of the five men who savagely beat Anthony Mifsud? Have the media ever pasted their faces on the newspapers and on television screens? Have any of their faces ever been circulated in leaflets at least by anonymous private citizens? When PN came to power under the stewardship of Dr.Adami 1987 did the attorney-general or a special prosecutor at that time at least ever pursue and interrogate these beasts? If yes, what has come out? Do we know who gave the orders to these beasts? I find it hard to believe that not one squealed. Why hasn’t the media ever pursued vigorously the killer of Raymond Caruana? If Dr.Adami knows, why haven’t the media demanded answers? Where are the serious fearless journalists in Malta? Protecting democratic values and exposing tyrants are more important in the long run than having journalists reporting on the electricity tariffs.
Why hasn’t a serious Maltese citizen with deep pockets funded a documentary TV series of the dark Labour days in Malta while people involved are still alive? I am willing to make my donation for this project, and I am sure many people will join in.
Daphne I commend your courageous work for you are a true journalist. You are constantly in pursuit of justice. Sadly Labour supporters do not understand that.
Mr/ Mrs London area,
Are you for real? In Malta 2008, the Police commissioner appears on national television and openly discusses sensitive issues like those discussed last Friday. You found he was ” intimiditating” to Montebello did you?
Times have truly changed it seems! In Malta of the 70’s and 80’s,the police commissioner was considered “intimidating” if he first beat the living daylights out of you in the depot,and then got one of his henchmen to dump your dead body over a bridge. Alternatively,depending on what was on offer on the Depot’s menu, you could be tortured,have your head stuck into a loo, or if you got lucky like P.P Busuttil framed for a murder you didn’t commit. How’s that for the “compassionate and approachable” commissioner you’re looking for? And by the way, you sure as hell didn’t see any police commissioners discussing allegations of abuse of power on prime-time television in the 80’s! Perestroika wasn’t part of the government’s credo at the time!
Like your hero Montebello, you don’t make one fundamental distinction. What happened in the days of Pullicino was a systematic way of operation, carried out intentionally for years on end.There are dozens, if not hundreds of episodes of people who were, shall we say “intimidated” at the depot. Any episodes that may occur today, wrong as they obviously are, are at best, an abuse by an official individually, and are investigated, not hiden under a carpet…….or thrown over a bridge!
So for goodness sake , please don’t come giving me lectures about “compassionate and approachable” police commissioners, because you’ll be as credibile as Fr. Robin Hood. If he’s supposedly leading people “mid-dlam ghad-dawl”, I hope for their sake they have a good torch, because if his warped logic and shameful performance on TV last Friday was anything to go by, I doubt he’s providing very much light! Just as well, he’d probably complain about the surcharge then.
@London Area
You forgot to mention another recent case…the murder of the mentally-unstable man from Qormi a couple of years ago. Was there an enquiry on this case?
@ Antimony
“You forgot to mention another recent case…the murder of the mentally-unstable man from Qormi a couple of years ago. Was there an enquiry on this case?”
The police commissioner often hides under the protection of these “ongoing” inquiries, yet we never hear of their outcomes. The devil is in the detail and these inquiries can never hold water unless they are EXTERNAL inquiries, controlled by a foreign institution such as an international police obudusman who would not be influenced by local currents and who would go into these cases using forensic obsession to detail.
@ London Area
You also forget that the Police Commissioner in the Qormi case was not a couple of offices away from where Anthony Mifsud was being beaten up.
You also forget that the Commissioner has no obligation nor the time to accompany the Police constables to every police matter and give the order to shoot or not to shoot. The police officers have that discretion if the situation warrants it.
Whether in the Qormi incident they acted correctly or not is not for you to decide and an inquiry should clear the air. It may take a bit longer than you deem convenient to satisfy your curiosity.
Why don’t you ask yourself a simple question: How would you have reacted faced with the same situation, being confronted by an erratic individual whose next move is unknown to you?
Have you read, or bothered to, in multiple cases when several similar individuals acting like the Qormi man, had been tasered and later died as a result? Are the police officers responsible for the demise of the victims?
These incidents did not happen in Malta and the Police Commissioner is advised to take a second look at the safety of these tasers since their safety depends on the state of health of the individual it is used on. Using the taser on an unknown individual whose health is below par could very well bring similar disastrous results.
London Area should also remember that the Qormi situation is totally different than the orchestrated frame up of both Anthony Mifsud and Pietru Pawl by the then Commissioner and his yes men with the full support of the government of the day.
With regards to Fr Mark’s behaviour, I like many others express my utter disgust and a few years ago I would have added that h dishonours the cloth he wears, but since he wears no distinctive marks to identify him as a priest, his behaviour brings to doubt whether he is a good one at all.
@ jomar “since he wears no distinctive marks to identify him as a priest, his behaviour brings to doubt whether he is a good one at all”
sure , as opposed to model priests like Father Anthony Mercieca who molested young boys, and the other Gozitan priest who attempted to pervert the course of justice in the case of the raped underage girl, or maybe the Archbishop of Malta who uses the media to incite hatred against whom he calls “infidels”.
Get your priorities right, Jomar.
I do not watch Xarabank. However, I decided to take part in the hot discussion between the Prime Minister and Dr. Muscat. Having found a replacement to run my bar, The City of London, on a busy Friday night. I headed towards Marsa, and after a couple of wrong turnings I found the Where’s Everybody studio.
It would have been very pleasing for me if Daphne was available for her comments. I have always admired Ms. Caruana Galizia. She seems to take on difficult situations irrespective of the consequences that might follow.
She is a fearless, brillant journalist of the highest calibre. I can see why Daphne dislikes the programme. It would be interesting if someone had to make a survey about the audiance of Xarabank, especially the average I.Q. J.B.