Comments on: More 'haxi' from the FAA

By: Tony Pace

Tony Pace — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:42:51 +0000

Hey Andrea, you always hit the nail on the head. Great song, 30 years old, a surprise hit which apparently had offended a lot of ‘short’ radio listeners until they got Randy Newman’s brand of irony in the lyrics.
Now here’s the twist………..the name of the album is
”Little Criminals”. How very apt :)

By: Tony Pace

Tony Pace — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:21:57 +0000

Apologies to Drs. Fenech Adami and Gonzi. I certainly did not mean them to be the butt of a joke, firstly because it was not a joke, and secondly because their political stature as well as their other qualities to match, more than make up for their ‘medium’ height.
Plus I specifically mentioned “dictators, despots and pompous asses”, and these two gentlemen definitely do not fall in that league.
But as to FAA………….let’s have a petition :)

By: P Shaw

P Shaw — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:00:22 +0000

Daphne, your note on short people is generally correct, and it applies across different cultures. I have worked with numerous colleagues from various countries, and the ‘noisiest’ ones are the shorter ones, even though one cannot really generalise.

Similar to Mario Debono, I have also wrote a mild comment on the Times which has not been uploaded. Looks like the Times is shielding the defenceless and tiny Astrid from crticism.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:50:32 +0000

Tony Pace – Short People

Could not resist posting this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZSCrK0XQmw&feature=related

Good version!

By: Tony Pace

Tony Pace — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:52:23 +0000

Malta Today is ‘selectively’ investigative……..which is a contradiction in terms. Bet you they’ll never investigate a certain minister and his cronies especially as that paper openly backed him in the run-up to the party leadership. Think about it, the name of the game is credibility and even The Times is getting close to losing its reputation of being Malta’s most reliable newspaper. No b.s, I seriously think this is the only Commentary site which comes close to giving its readers the full picture.

By: Tony Pace

Tony Pace — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:38:38 +0000

An eminent maritime engineer taken in by Astrid Vella and co., Bloody hell, whatever next? I think they should all go back to the bingo table.
Daphne, I am quoting the annals of history here so please give me a chance to refer to it. Short people have always featured prominently in the list of dictators, despots and pompous asses, not least in Malta.
I wonder what the anthropological reason is for this….

[Daphne – The list of short people also gave us Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi, and the list of tall people gave us the horrid and vulgar Lino Cassar. So I’m not complaining. But you have a point: I’ve noticed that the shorter people are, the more they want to be noticed. The most irritating girls at school were the shortest ones, and the shortest one of all was Norman Lowell’s girlfriend. Anyway, practically everyone in Malta is short, so….but then again, maybe that’s just why we’re such a razza tal-pruzuntuzi.]

By: Tonio Farrugia

Tonio Farrugia — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:58:19 +0000

@Giancarlo (‘Investigative reporting doesn’t seem to be one of the local journalistic scene’s fortes. ‘).

Just look at the local English-language press (I don’t include the Maltese papers for the simple reason they are just political propaganda), and you see that they are just carbon-copies reproducing statements and press releases. No attempt at investigative analysis. One newby paper purports to publish investigations which amount to nothing more than muck-raking.

[Daphne – Except that Malta Today noticeably failed to rake any muck on Bastjan Dalli, and drew a veil of discreet silence over the whole affair. Bastjan Dalli? Who he? Malta Today doesn’t know – just as it doesn’t know that its editor got a whacking great load of EU funding for an anti-bird-hunting campaign, and has so far done nothing with it except put up a few billboards. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090215/local/former-eu-negotiator-involved-in-anti-trapping-campaign%5D

By: Harold

Harold — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:24:10 +0000

I also have the well being of our nation, not only valletta, but the whole nation at heart. but I will never stoop so low as to oppose ALL kinds of projects without hearing all views pro and con. Finally I accept the fact that those who are totally responsible accept this responsibility, after having taken all views and expert advice (not from FAA or other NGOs who are just there to shoot from the hip).

By: Giancarlo

Giancarlo — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:24:56 +0000

Daphne, in response to your question as to why nobody in the press thought to ask for the petition, it’s all tied to the debate on mediocrity that you brought up yesterday. Investigative reporting doesn’t seem to be one of the local journalistic scene’s fortes. They prefer to reduce journalism to just echoing whatever (often self-imposed) public figures state rather than going into any depth. And that is mediocre.

What irks me so much about the St.John’s controversy is not so much the lost money, but the way in which party politics (on both sides!) and media have embraced the situation and allowed FAA a voice way out of proportion to their stature. I sincerely hope that the-loudest-idiot-way of doing things does not fall under the term “public consultation” being thrown about blindly by both government and opposition. Public consultation (of anybody about anything) is doomed to result in mediocrity.

By: F Chircop

F Chircop — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:15:17 +0000

Min jaf kemm qed tiehu gost Astrid Vella b’din il-promotion kollha, u iktar tissahhah. Issa jasal progett iehor u kif tiftah halqha Astrid jaqa’ mill-ewwel. Just wait and see.

[Daphne – That’s exactly what I’m saying. But it’s only because she’s entered into a union of ginger people with you-know-who, and with a couple of axe-grinders on the other side. Without them, she’s nothing. I wonder what it feels like, being dependent on the help of pieces of sh*t like former police inspector Anglu Farrugia. How lacking in dignity and integrity – honestly.]