Running Commentary's Comment of the Week
Published:
April 3, 2009 at 10:27am
What's a financial year? Mintoff said he threw you out.
I love it.
Paul Caruana:
“The reason why ‘freedom’ day falls on the 31st of March is as banal as the non-event itself. The British financial year begins on the 1st of April so a lease – be it for a garage, a fish and chip shop or a naval base – would normally expire on the 31st of March.”
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Daphne
Something out of subject but did you see the following?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090401/local/pro-life-group-alarmed-by-pl-candidates-comments
But you are missing one thing.. All contracts when due to expire, can be renewed. What happened is that Mintoff negotiated a seven year contract with the main aim that after that contract expires, the british had to go. Like any other contract after all, be it a garage, a fish and chip shop or a naval base. Simple! No matter how much you try to diminish the importance of this date, it remains a decisive event in our recent history. There was another state that wanted to come and uses Malta as a military base, offering a huge contribution, but was refused by Mintoff! This shows the the Mintoff aim, of being a free and self run state was Honest and True!!!
No it wasn’t, Alan. If I may plagiarise your words: There was another state (Libya) that wanted to come and use Malta as a military base, offering no contribution, but was accepted by Mintoff. The British would have left in any case. They were already thinking of leaving before 1939, for heaven’s sake.
[Daphne – And thank God they didn’t.]
“They were already thinking of leaving before 1939, for heaven’s sake.”
Where did you get this?
I’m interested to know more about this assertion Mr Baxxter, the reason being that it’s not the first time I’ve heard something along these lines. But the interested parties were allegedly Russia, China and for some time even the US. Although these theories are plausible since none of them had any significant military presence in the Med at the time, their veracity remain unattested as far as I’m concerned. So is there any evidence somewhere to back up your claim on Libya ?
It’s an odd sort of freedom you celebrate that has a mini despot deprive people of liberty.
Mintoff did nothing of the kind. Mintoff wanted them to stay on. He asked for too much money and they told him to get lost. Nothing more complicated or glorious than that. It is all documented. You can spin it all you like, but that’s what it is. And then he tried to save face by creating a celebration. Mhux ta’ b’xejn nghidulu purcinell!
Read the Bonham-Carter diaries. Even before the Second World War, Britain knew that it would lose most of its colonies, including Malta. Right at the start of the 1930s, when war with France or Italy seemed equally possible, it was taken for granted that once out of Britain’s control, Malta would gravitate towards Italy, perhaps to be annexed. Then the war came along, and Italy was among the losers, and you know the rest of the story. I’ll put this in majuscules so you’ll smell the proverbial coffee: THE ONLY WAY THAT MALTA COULD HAVE STAYED UNDER BRITISH CONTROL WAS TO ASK FOR DEPENDENCY STATUS.
Mintoff wanted nothing of the sort, because he hated the British. So he asked for the impossible: integration. You all know what I think about our independence. I’ve made my views clear enough. But here we are, 360 square km, 400,000 inhabitants, and an independent republic to manage. A Herculean task. I’d be tempted to say impossible, but I don’t want to go out of point. That little kid in the photo looks just like my mum in 1950-something. Goddamn, I’m growing old. Time to write a book.
Precisely. It’s more a case of “Mintoff gerrex l-Inglizi” than “Mintoff kecca l-Inglizi”.
Alan, the British ‘had to go’, as you put it, in 1974. By your logic Mintoff prolonged the terrible trauma that the Maltese were undergoing under the jackboot of the imperialist British running dogs for a further 5 years.
That is exactly the point, and it was not long ago that many companies in Malta used the same system. It was Minister John Dalli who pushed so that all Maltese companies start their financial year on the first of January.
Maltese companies do not start their financial year on 1st January. Many do, but others don’t. It is completely at their discretion. In the UK the government starts the financial year on the 1st April, but again, private companies can choose when to start their year and there is no set pattern.
I know it’s out of subject…imma I dont want this to end up like the co-cathedral museum…http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090403/letters/barrakka-lift-proposal
…imma kif fuq kollox iridu naraw xi haga hazina?
[Daphne – If this upsets you, you should have seen the comments beneath the original story on timesofmalta.com, when the project was announced. People were suggesting a lift in keeping with the baroque bastions. Baroque bastions? A baroque lift? Somebody else suggested enclosing it in a stone shaft, so that it blends in, failing to understand that half the purpose is giving those in the lift a panoramic view.]
I really like the design of the proposed lift. Very smart!
An historical speech about (the real) freedom in Malta. This is the best tribute to Malta’s “Giant Statesman”: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8018A70F29EF5EFE
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090402/local/john-bundy-off-the-air
As far as I know it should be OFF AIR not OFF THE AIR
I’m going to get a reputation here, but anyway. Both are correct, although “off air” is more commonly used to denote something said between broadcast segments. John Bundy “While we were off air, Cetta knocked over the arrangement of Inox pans, the wretched hick”. Mind you, I am not certain that you take people off the air; I have always heard that being said about programs. Taking any program with John Bundy in it off the air would be very sensible indeed, if you ask me.
From today’s online version of Times of Malta
President hosts lunch for Prime Minister, Opposition leader
“On the menu is risotto with funghi porcini for starters, meat and fish for the main course and a hazelnut meringue with fresh strawberries for dessert.”
Il-ustja Mich, x’qamel…no hemborgers.
I’m curious to know in which hand Joseph held his fork.
Talk of jumping on the bandwagon! It looks like somebody here is desperately trying to gain Mintoffian votes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEvOLb8VE_g
Bhal ma’ jghidu bil-Malti, wiccha w x’imkien iehor xorta. As for Mintoff himself, with all the money he’s purportedly stashed away, surely he can afford to buy himself another ensemble – preferably a washable one.
In case Kev’s insterested I came across the video by chance when searching on You Tube for “Helsien” videos. (I had heard that when Muscat going up the Helsien monument during the celebrations this week, his jacket was buttoned incorrectly and he undid it as he went up. I was curious to see if I could find footage.)
Ersaq mons, ha nara
Worth watching the video clip at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1167112/The-Italian-nun-spent-20-years-lapdancer-shes-ballerina-Jesus.html
Was it a coincidence that the two holidays that Mintoff “created” happen to be close to the two major Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter?
[Daphne – No. Mintoff appeared to reserve his biggest problems, struggles, hassles and upheavals for December, doing his best to ruin the Christmas spirit for the entire country.]
Francis – Why has everyone forgotten that Mintoff had also “postponed” carnival to the 1st May, instead of celebrating it in the days preceding Lent?
Forsi ghamel hekk biex jit*ejjek bil-haddiema u b’kulhadd f’salt? The sweet irony of it all is that he’d make a perfect “king carnival” himself, especially in the state he’s been reduced to today.
Joseph Muscat’s role model, Silvio Berlucsconi (“I’m rich and can wear track-suits to lunch”):
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/viewmedia/75318
Please have a look at this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7983043.stm
u ejja Daphne.
He is a new-born Green…algae included:
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/greenalgae/greenalgae.html
It’s a bit like the president-in-waiting this morning taking a walkabout PRIOR to his swearing-in ceremony. Did he not realise that while he was doing so somebody else was still president? I suspect that we’re going to have a few of these embarrassing “sans protocol” moments in the next five years.
I still cannot fathom why, why, why did Dr Gonzi choose him to be president?
http://www.thelondonpaper.com/thelondonpaper/news/london/news/italian-prime-minister-silvio-berlusconi-gets-a-telling-off-by-the-queen.
@Daphné Have you seen this? Talk about a royal putdown. Can you imagine the ginger man with her?
[Daphne – The link is wrong. Will you find the right one, please?]
Try this one, Daph:
http://www.thelondonpaper.com/thelondonpaper/news/london/news/italian-prime-minister-silvio-berlusconi-gets-a-telling-off-by-the-q
“Last year Berlusconi caused outrage by describing Obama as “suntanned” then last week claimed his response to the global economic crisis was different from that of the American president because: “I’m paler”.” http://www.thelondonpaper.com/thelondonpaper/news/london/news/italian-prime-minister-silvio-berlusconi-gets-a-telling-off-by-the-q
Here is the correct link:
http://www.thelondonpaper.com/thelondonpaper/news/london/news/italian-prime-minister-silvio-berlusconi-gets-a-telling-off-by-the-q
The video was hilarious; you hear him go “Mister Obamaaaa” and the Queen got pretty angry.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1166820/We-NOT-offended-Palace-tries-smooth-Queens-Why-does-man-shout-jibe-Berlusconi.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFgCthVSUwo
Hope this is ok.