I don't know where to begin
This is not a political show.
This comment came in this morning. I just don’t know where to begin. Perhaps it’s because the only possible reaction to a man who by my calculations is around 30, yet who has the political sophistication and thought processes of someone in secondary school, is quite despair.
“My family was never a very politically active one – our political role was always limited to the democratic practice of voting once every five years,” he writes.
Oh, why am I not surprised, then, that he thinks like this? Exposure to this sort of reasoning, over the years, has made me wonder what is the worst you can do politically to your children: brainwash them, or fail to discuss politics at all while they are growing up.
“So much so, that I do remember, once, an uncle of mine declaring that he was voting for the opposite party that time round, simply because of the fact that some Minister had found him a new job a few weeks before election. So? What’s wrong with that? Nothing at all, in my opinion. The best political position,as I see it, is as a floater – you can never lose, you can only win. Call me an egoist, an ignoramus? Maybe – but I’d still be the one to get the job.”
Can you imagine – voting for your own extremely narrow and short-sighted personal interests and ignoring the party policies and ability to run the country? Why am I asking this? Of course you can imagine it. It happens all the time. And no matter how smart and intelligent these people sometimes think they are – very many of them have a low IQ and so they’re not to blame – they really not that smart at all. Or even selfish. The people who truly think of themselves, and who are really very smart, look to the long-term. They don’t consider their narrow, short-term interests. They consider their broader, all-round, wide-reaching interests, and you can’t do that without considering the country’s fate.
He thinks the lyrics and music in Gensna are catchy, and that they should be appreciated for their intrinsic (dubious) merits. Well, the national anthem of Nazi Germany is pretty catchy, too, but nobody is going to sit around discussing its musical merits or playing on the car stereo because they like the music and it’s fun to sing along to.
The primary platform for the analysis of a political musical performance is a political one, and not a musical or artistic one. But those with scant political formation, like this man, or whose political formation consisted of the brigata or of parents telling them how much workers suffered without Mintoff, don’t understand this.
I once suffered through a formal lunch trying to make conversation with a very senior civil servant who went on to hold one of the most important positions in the country, under a Nationalist government, and who is now on the board of one of the commercial banks that have set up here. He was, in his time, one of Mintoff’s men, and somehow the conversation came round to a trip he took back in those days to North Korea.
“They have such discipline,” he told me, “unlike the Maltese. They put on a big show for us, with hundreds of girls in uniform all dancing in formation. They didn’t put a foot wrong. And then they sang in a big chorus. They were all perfectly in tune. It was really nice.”
I thought this was a particularly good time to turn to the person on my left. What can you say to a man who assesses the political song-and-dance routine of 100 regimented and bullied North Koreans on a musical basis and not a political one?
As for the man below, I believe the only thing I’ve written that he’s read is my view on Gensna. He appears to be labouring under the delusion that I laugh at the sacrifices of those who died in the First and Second World Wars. Perhaps I should direct him to the piece I wrote last November on how Joseph Muscat did just that by ignoring the ceremonies to mark the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day and holding a Labour protest rally on the same day instead – to which he turned up with a poppy in his lapel.
And no, sir – your grandfather didn’t fight somebody else’s war. He fought his own war. Had we not been a British colony, we would have been sucked up by Mussolini’s Italy or Hitler’s Germany, and that would have been the end of that. I can see that your political reasoning is ultra-simplistic, but you have to be very simplistic (and uninformed) indeed to believe that had we not been in the war with the Allied Forces, we would have been left alone.
One thing I really cannot understand is why people who support the Labour Party and who react to my views with hdura are so fascinated by the fact that I live in Bidnija that they always bring it up. Though it is a farming area and not a villa area they seem to find my life here deeply offensive – worse even than life in a duplex penthouse on Tower Road.
This man asked for his comment to be published, suspecting that I might fear the cruel accuracy of his perceptive views. I’m doing more than that. I’m showcasing it. So here is it, from ‘mojorisin’:
When ‘Gensna’ came out, I was two years old, so I obviously do not remember it. Yet, some years later, I did catch glimpses of it on some local TV channel. I was around ten or twelve then, and I must say that you’d have to be very pro-PN-brainwashed not to admit that the music of some songs is, at the very least, catchy.
My family was never a very politically active one – our political role was always limited to the democratic practice of voting once every five years. So much so, that I do remember, once, an uncle of mine declaring that he was voting for the opposite party that time round, simply because of the fact that some Minister had found him a new job a few weeks before election. So? What’s wrong with that? Nothing at all, in my opinion.
The best political position,as I see it, is as a floater – you can never lose, you can only win. Call me an egoist, an ignoramus? Maybe – but I’d still be the one to get the job.
With this kind of family background, I believe that the first time I heard those songs from ‘Gensna’ on TV, I was absolutely non-influenced by any red or blue vision of my country, Malta. And that allowed me to appreciate the music and the lyrics of the ‘rok opra’, as the editor/censor describes it here.
Dear editor/censor, I find it totally impossible to understand how someone like you can simply wave it away and dismiss it as trash. Surely it deserves a mention even if you just consider its musical content! I have had the opportunity of working under Mro. Paul Abela, the author, for seven times – as far as I know, he’s always been a respected musical entity and a major musical authority in Malta, spawning a very good number of songs for our fellow Maltese singers. I certainly believe that most people, including you,would nod in agreement at this.
And yet, it seems that, even in the unlikely event of you agreeing with me over this, you’d still consider ‘Gensna’, Mro. Abela’s work, as trash. Could it be possible that whatever else he wrote and directed is good, or even very good, in your eyes, BUT ‘GENSNA’ COULD NEVER BE CONSIDERED AS PASSABLE, EVEN, BY YOU? I certainly have a strong inclination to think so. And what about the singers?
As I said before, I have worked in musical circles for over twleve years now, especially in musical theatre – BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A MUSICAL GENIUS TO SPOT TALENT WHERE IT IS SO OBVIOUS! I dare say that even the most brainwashed PN supporter on this yellow rock of a country would close his/her eyes. listen to the voices of the singers, and note with satisfaction that yes, they truly are good singers and they do our country proud, as far as musical talent and capabilty goes!
Could it be possible that Daphne Caruana Galizia is so brainwashed so as not to admit this?? Mhux hekk biss, talli she can actually come to a point that she RIDICULES them and their musical efforts! DAPHNE VS THE SINGERS? JUST BECAUSE THEY HAPPEN TO SING, IMPECCABLY, IN ‘GENSNA’? OH PLEASE!!!!!!! And as for looking upon the fact that Maltese people, in general, had to really suffer to get to today’s life, as a JOKE? Well, that insults me. And my country. And my countrymen.
Do you really mean to tell me that the trials and tribulations of a nation like ours, the deaths of my countrymen while fighting wars which were surely NOT THEIRS, the immense losses and gains over centuries of history and foreign occupation, all these and more – mean nothing to you? Anzi, you LAUGH at them! You deride and ridicule them and their sacrifices! You insult them and their sacrifices! You dare to ridicule the deaths of Maltese men and women over the years who, whether they wanted it or not, had to fight for their scrap of turf?
You dare to tell me that my grandfather, Mr. Lawrence Cachia, laid down his life for his country while fighting someone else’s war, IS A JOKE?? You dare to find that amusing? You dare to comment on ‘the hardships endured by the Maltese people as they struggled for the country’s freedom’, like my grandfather did (an RAF Lance Corporal, killed by shrapnel at Fort St. Angelo in 1941 during the attack on HMS Illustrious), with ‘OH, PLEASE’????? ‘Oh, Please’ what, my dear editor/censor???? Oh, Please, I’m sorry to say, was my own reaction at reading your comments above.
As I said before, my political involvement or opinions have never reached fever-pitch, ever, and I have always held a lukewarm approach to Maltese politics. I tend to see them for what they are – dirty, corrupt, uncompromising, un-democratic in many ways, totally unfair in many other ways.
Yet, commenting like that on a ‘rok opra’, written by my fellow countrymen, using my native tongue, presenting a substantially good (I repeat – good. Not excellent, good. And substantially so, too) picture of my country’s history, sung exquisitely by my very talented fellow countrymen (surely unworthy the unsavoury and unkind comment of ’so help us God’!), has only brought about four (4) conclusions by me.
One – how infinitely brainwashed, blindly ignorant, politically provocative, unable to accept diverse opinions than yours, mentally blocked, stuck-up and musically unappreciative you are, my dear Daphne.
Two – I wouldn’t expect a retard like you to come up with a good piece of music – your comments in denial of Mro. Abela’s musical capacity are enough proof that musically, you’re jack-s**t. However, you seem to have a knack for words. How about trying to rival ‘Gensna’s beautiful lyrical content with something of your lyrical composition, Mrs. High-and-Mighty? After all, you must be pretty adept at being eloquent where needed – as your son exquisitely proved in front of cameras. Thank God he didn’t have to write it down too, like you do. Come on, try writing something which makes sense. I dare you…
Three – Given my lukewarm political feelings, I noted the ‘Gensna in Concert’ event with the same feeling – a lukewarm one. I was NOT particularly interested in going to watch it. Yet, my musical theatre tastes (which stretch out over a period of thirteen years of acting, singing, TV appearances and filming, and stage direction) got the better of my curiosity and I bought a ticket.
Yesterday, I was looking up some info about the show (you see, unlike you, I like to check what I’m going to watch, so I’ll know what to comment. My ideas don’t come out of thin air, my dear) and I stumbled over this dumb page you keep. I decided NOT to reply to this blog until AFTER I had watched the performance, and ONLY IF I NEEDED TO. If you had been right in your criticism of the ‘rok opra’, then I’d have given you credit for it, honest to God. It’s in my nature to do it, especially in theatre circles. However, I’m sorry, but you were wrong. Dead wrong. ‘Gensna’ is good, very good.
Face it, my dear. Nobody has ever managed to pack up MCC for six shows in a row. Only something like ‘Gensna’ could have, and there’s nothing like ‘Gensna’.
Four – From now on, I have made it a point to try and answer your articles in the newspaper you write in, in any way I can and find possible. Your general compulsive unwillingness to accept the leftist political and historical advances and triumphs of my country, together with your complete disrespect for the past generations of fellow Maltese countrymen need an answer. You have awakened in me a great wave of patriotism and political feeling.
I am no longer lukewarm, thank you very much. I do not intend to try and shut you up; I know it’s impossible for an urchin like you to shut up or learn. Rather, I will try to be a pest and get my answering letters and comments published as much as possible in your newspaper, or in any other one that would accept them. A pest is on the way, my dear. Take care.
Oh, and please keep your residence in Bidnija – it’s not as far away from my home as much as I’d like it to be, but it works just fine for me. Should you consider moving – SO HELP US GOD!! – … well then… go to Iceland!
“Minn bejn l-ghollieq musfara…
Minn bejn ix-xewk ghatxan…”
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Here’s a really catchy tune that Mojorisin might like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckrk1iqYdfM
The video is not available/censored in Germany. Since that never happened before I am curious now: what does it show?
[Daphne – Yes, well, it would be censored in Germany: it’s the Nazi anthem.]
Must be a Youtube restriction in Germany since the Nazi anthem (1.strophe from the German anthem / and the ‘Horst Wessel Song’) is not subject to censorship in Germany .
You cant say it’s not a nice tune. I dont understand German, though. I might be revolted if I do, thinking of the countless millions murdered by Hitler and the Nazis. Propaganda always is revolting. For the same reason, I run a mile when someone plays something from Gensna. It reminds me of the terror-filled Mintoff years. It also reminds me of the many people who laid low and avoided it and only came out in the light when the PN was victorious in 1987. That includes a well-known TV presenter
Who is this moron? I have come to theconclusion that his penthouse is empty, his upstairs room void.
Good news for Jim Morrison fans: Mojorisin is no longer ‘lukewarm’! The Doors resurrection.
OK, the man is lying. There is no Lance Corporal rank in the RAF.
His claim of political indifference is rather weak if he’s so easily galvanised into action by criticism of a rock opera, of all things.
What could he possibly hope to achieve?
To add to your analysis of the ‘I’ll vote for you as long as you give me job’ mentality, Dr Muscat replied yesterday to a question by a NET reporter something on the lines of “surely Gonzi did not create jobs”.
At last I can see that Muscat is trying to be honest. Right, Joe – Gonzi did not create jobs but continued with the effort of building the favourable economic and political climate for jobs to be created. The last prime minister I can recall actually creating jobs was KMB.
Since when are standards measured by audiences? Damn! If that were the case then we might also conclude that every year’s pantomime was the BEST theatre we’d had all year . . .
Dear me . . . I must be wasting my time, Daphne! Should I take your friend’s advice and limit my work to Gensna and pantomimes?
Ah, wait a bit, these are the shows for the political chameleons, not for someone who’ll fight for what he believes in to the very end.
Damn again!
Since you are here, being active and all, what is the latest news on Stitching? I have been very slack in keeping up with the news lately and haven’t heard anything for a while. Wish you all the best.
Hi Pat.
A good account of the situation was given in the Times last Sunday:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090503/local/decision-on-banned-play-soon
Cheers… Best of luck!
Min fejn issibhom, Daphne? You surely attract the wrong kind! As I was reading this post, I kept feeling that there were two people, or possibly more, involved in it because it starts in one tone and ends in another. But then again, it could be one person with a multiple personality disorder. Hang on tight and prepare your pest-control equipment.
@Anna
Agreed. I am not an expert by any means but there seem to be two writers involved. Equally bad and equally verukt (Andrea please spell).
@Tony
Mignun? Your German sounds rather Scandinavian to me.
This is a typical letter by a Labour elf pretending to be “a floater”.
PS. What kind of name is Mojorisin? It sounds like something you take twice a day after meals.
I don’t see anything wrong with Gensna and I think you are blowing this out of proportion.
People can watch whatever they please, and I don’t see how songs about socialism are more damaging, than songs about death, murder and drug use (rap).
Graham Crocker — You’re obviously very much younger than many of us here, for whom even the mention of the very word “Gensna” brings back memories of the awful 1970s and all that Labour stood for in those days. (Talking of which, seeing that the same old faces are still around is not at all a pleasant thought.)
Ah, but doesn’t censorship and blocking out other people’s political beliefs ..remind you of the 1970s too?
Granted this rock thingy, sounds like utter crap, but who are we to tell others what & what not to listen to.
[Daphne – Nobody’s telling them not to listen to it, Graham. We’re just pointing out that it’s not a musical. It’s political propaganda.]
They can sing about how Kim Jong Il is the greatest man in the world, about how we fought for the British (and not against the Nazis), they can sing about Desserta Chocolate being better than Cadbury’s… for all I care.
Can’t argue with that, I thought they knew it was propaganda.
“It’s political propaganda”
Sounds like a description of Super One News and Net News. Goebbels would be proud of both of them.
Honestly, I did not manage to read it all. It’s too painful to stomach it all. Daphne, you should have scrapped it.
Why do these people think that mentioning your son’s use of the word ‘fuck’ on telly is some way of getting even with you?
[Daphne – They think it reflects badly on me, because they come from the sort of social background where the use of bad language brings shame on the family and you have to maintain appearances all the time. He may be the sort to tell squat freaks from Super One where to stuff their cameras when they’re bothering him, but he’ll have a master’s degree from the LSE at the age of only 21 (which should make him a candidate to lead the Labour Party, I imagine), which is more than can be said for the lot of them, besides being cute to look at, interesting to talk to, and able to use a knife and fork without getting confused. Right, now I’m going to get a mouthful from him.]
At least you didn’t call him your 1988 baby :)
And D, you WILL get a mouthful but, so what? Surely it’s our privilege to occasionally show how proud we are of our little darlings (in my case, all 6’4” of him) except that with me it would not just be a mouthful more like………….
Felicitation, Tony!
@ NGT “Why do these people think that mentioning your son’s use of the word ‘fuck’ on telly is some way of getting even with you?”
It was the vile attack by Super 1 on Daphne’s son that persuaded me and my wife to vote PN instead of AD right at the end of the electoral campaign. What some people don’t get is that the MLP’s over-reaction towards a minor impulsive private citizen’s defiant stance gave many people a stark reminder that the MLP hasn’t changed and was to be stopped from governing at all costs.
I know exactly what you mean; Charles Mangion’s “DNA” outburst probably also provoked the same reaction in many.
What`s all this “my dear” nonsense?
I think that if you are going to try to deride the validity of Daphne`s opinions on the basis that she is a woman, at least have the guts and conviction to use the sexist language of our times and be judged for the attitudes that you expouse.
If you are going to go down this cowardly, sexist, antediluvian avenue then at least do it in a way that is relevant to the century you are living in.
“My dear” indeed. Have you been picking up put-downs from Jane Austen novels or something? What makes you so superior to women anyway? Your appreciation of Gensna? Is that where you get your sense of machismo from?
Here`s a little hint for you – bitchy little remarks that may have worked at putting women in their places in 1809 or 1909 may not be all that effective in 2009.
[Daphne – Half-educated, Labour-supporting up-and-coming women are the only ones who use ‘my dear’ sarcastically in this kind of context, which is one of the things that tell me that this missive was written by a woman and not by a man. Men don’t use ‘my dear’ unless they mean it. ‘Bitchy little remarks’….you’ve got it right there.]
You haven’t told us who this moron is yet!
[Daphne – How in God’s name would I know? It’s almost certainly a woman – the verbosity, the ‘my dear’, the bitching on at length, the over-reaction, the animosity towards another woman that has 1% to do with politics and 99% to do with everything else…..not that I wish to be sexist, of course, because most normal woman don’t behave like that. But when somebody does, you can bet it’s a woman.]
“I once suffered through a formal lunch trying to make conversation with a very senior civil servant who went on to hold one of the most important positions in the country, under a Nationalist ”
I think he’s the same ex-civil servant who’s trying to penetrate the Maltese banking market with reps who can only speak English.
And if I’m not mistaken he cuts and pastes newspaper cuttings on a board and calls this art.
[Daphne – I wouldn’t know anything about that. This one is in his 60s.]
If you look at the list of directors appointed to the board of Malta-registered commercial banks, you can easily find your answer. Start with the website of the MFSA.
Yes, P Shaw, typical of the PN. They sometimes appoint utter morons, who are also adept ass-lickers, on boards. Invariably they are ex civil servants. It’s got a lot to do with the Old Boys’ Network and very little with ability. Of course, Daphne wouldn’t agree with me here. But it’s a reality.
[Daphne – Who said I wouldn’t agree with you? I’m the one who mentioned that man in the first place. And then there’s Vince Farrugia.]
Totally out of subject – but then again, you connoisseurs think I’m nuts anyway – but I’ve just got in after a long hard day and I’m far too fagged to do any cooking for one, so I’m dining on delicious instant noodles. Now tell me, what can be quicker and simpler than that? Three minutes kollox…means I get to surf AND read my book. Priorities, you see…
Just make sure they’re not made in North Korea.
Bet you won’t have much time for cooking this evening, either. Best of luck.
No wonder he likes Gensna. A “lukewarm” individual who uses the term “my fellow countrymen” over and over again must have a hammer and a sickle tattooed on his left hand.
If I’m not mistaken, one of the Gensna songs goes something like “mitna ghall-barrani . . . . . . ” hence his conclusion about his beloved grandpa fighting Churchill’s war.
One last point: if Gensna can fill the Republic hall at MCC six times over, this is proof enough that there is absolutely no room and demand for an opera house.
Need I say more?
Mickey
Daphne,
“One thing I really cannot understand is why people who support the Labour Party and who react to my views with hdura are so fascinated by the fact that I live in Bidnija that they always bring it up”
Well, with these people and their mindset, it has to be simple, black or white. The MLP / Super 1 created this image of you of a snobbish, Sliema woman, tal-pepe’ , etc, etc.., [Daphne – And ugly, don’t forget ugly…..] and obviously your residence location does not fit in this description. They cannot and will never imagine you talking to any farmers or fellow residents, because that is not the perception that Super1 fed them. Their lack of imagination will never allow them to think beyond Super 1, and anything that does not fit in with Super 1 teachings becomes irritating.
I am surprised by the language used by this person, considering that he is indifferent to politics etc. You must have touched a raw nerve.
“Nobody ever managed to pack up MCC for six shows in a row”
Reminds me of Mintoff in the summer of ’98 saying that, even with the crowds it attracted, Alfred Sant (then chairman of the Party’s department of information) still managed to run “Gensna” at a loss.
[Daphne – That’s hilarious.]
Why do these people always look so miserable, and so full of lanzit? I seriously think THEY are the ones with a DNA problem. It’s so recognizable one can tell them a mile away.
Why don’t you begin with this video, Daphne – a 16-year-old is arrested at night under the Patriot Act by gun-wielding federal thugs and he’s been held for over two months now with no end in sight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9zGhYSIAP8
And if you think this is a one-off, it’s because you have been following North Korea too closely.
[Daphne – Thallatx il-hass mal-bass, Kevin.]
As usual this guy pops up with his anti American mind boggling rhetoric.
You can keep your mindset stranded with your beloved North Korea, but it is only a pity, and to Malta’s great loss, that our country is not a member of NATO.
“It is only a pity, and to Malta’s great loss, that our country is not a member of NATO.”
I love you P Shaw, and I want to have your babies.
It’s a deal HP Baxxter. Send me your picture, babe (….or is it dude?) :)
Do you think any babe would give a toss about NATO?
The only gun-wielding police thugs we ever had in Malta were your colleagues, Kev.
Sorry, Daphne, I thought North Korea stands for freedom and civil liberties. If that is not the hassa, I am still searching for what you really stand for.
On the other hand, I found the bassa. P Shaw here finds US neo-fascism rhetorical and mind boggling. Tal-biki tassew.
I don’t think the issue really is whether the abuse of the Patriot Act is right or wrong; it’s that you somehow seem to suggest that it is as bad as Kim Jong-Il’s antics. Is that what you are saying?
Would love it if you expanded a bit.
[Daphne – You should also ask Kevin what he thought of people being detained by the police in Malta as a form of harassment in the 1980s, with at least one of them ending up as a corpse with a burst spleen in a valley. Or of people who were made to sign a false confession after being kept incommunicado in a dark cell with faeces on the walls for 24 hours, and only a dusty sandwich to eat – like me, by the current deputy leader of the Labour Party in his previous incarnation as a police inspector. Kevin was in the force in those days, so he should have some very strong opinions.]
Kev, I invite you to take a ride from Brussels to Normandy (it’s only a few hours away) and spend a couple of hours on the deserted and sad empty beaches of Normandy. Everyone should go to this place once in their lifetime, especially the loopy members of Graffiti.
You should think and ponder about the thousands of lives lost on June 6th 1944 to save Europe from real fascism and Nazism. That is the real America and it still exists today.
It’s hard for you to admit it and I understand, considering that you formed part of the police force during the 80s and are so keen and enthusiastic about North Korea.
If hass and bass is what you’re after, Daphne, then you should know that I never approved of such conduct. I was a young officer at the time – quite accidentally, I should add. The reason I persevered was because I had this quixotic illusion that when my time came I could lead a very different type of police force. Today, I thank Commissioner GG for making me realise it was an idealist’s dream.
And Pat, I am not suggesting anything except for you lot to heave yourselves from the past and look at where the present is taking us. But first you all need to recognise the present because I can see that the Western mainstream media is doing a much better job than the Soviets. Read from outside the box, for heaven’s sake! Who cares about North Korea when the Western world is going to the doldrums! You cannot imagine how ridiculous you all sound – it’s a good thing I don’t take you lot seriously.
But here, have an extra laugh at my expense – this is a picture of my office in the minds of the unknowing: http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/43ab90b344d1c527.jpg
If you don’t get it I’m sure Daphne would oblige.
Who cares about North Korea you ask. I think we all should. If not just for the North Korean people (which would be good enough reason on its own), then for the timebomb that they are. With a nuclear weapons programme around the corner, an extremely potent military force and a frightening alliance with China.
There is no doubt in my mind to how undemocratic the Patriot Act is, but at the same time it’s nothing less of shameful to somehow compare it to one of the most oppresive regimes currently in power.
I would have found your image funny had I not realised that it actually could be true.
So we should all be happy, Pat, that the West is not yet as despotic as North Korea. That alone says a lot about your sources of information. You must think the Patriot Act is all about fighting the ‘terrorists’. You know what the problem is? You are at such an elementary level in your world view I wouldn’t know where to begin. You and Daphne make a fine pollyanna pair.
I’m beginning to think your ability to read is as bad as your asessment of the world. Didn’t I just declare the Patriot Act as undemocratic? Didn’t I say that whether it’s right or wrong is not the issue here?
My whole point is that nothing in the western world is even slightly comparable to the state in North Korea and to suggest otherwise is an insult partly to the North Korean people, living under indescribable tyranny, and to the rest of the world living with the threats from this madman.
Feel free to fight against injustice wherever you find it, Kev, but don’t compare any injustice you find in the western world with such extremities.
I’m not sure why you leap to the defence of North Korea. Could you at least, for the benefit of the rest here if nothing else, share your actual views on North Korea, putting American despotism aside for a second?
The problem with you people is that although you are well-educated you will never leap to a higher level of awareness because your minds are set like concrete. Your education is more like brainwashing – you have all been fed too many lies and myths.
In the Soviet days, the well-educated were generally the ones that applauded the Soviet system most. The pronvincials – those who read less – were more anti-Soviet and could better discern the cracks in the facade because the Soviet media had a lesser grasp on them.
Otherwise, Pat, no offence, but there’s no discussion here. The language may be the same, but the level of awareness is miles apart.
And who the hell defended North Korea? See what I mean?
Talk of a naive Swede – geezus!
Don’t even try to presume how I relate to my education, nor my lack of it.
I did ask you (twice) to ellaborate your views on North Korea further, something you clearly won’t do. That is your choice and right, but refusal to do so will limit the grounds for further discussion.
Now what is it you are really trying to say? How did the Patriot Act relate to the subject at hand? The Patriot Act is a stinking heap of undemocratic, despotic crap. There, happy? It’s my true and honest feeling about it. My other true and honest feeling is that I’d rather be sentenced wrongfully under the Patriot Act and spend a few months in an American jail than happen to forget to sing my everlasting praise to a tyrrant and risk life in prison (if I’m lucky).
Now please, tell me your views on North Korea (yes, I am naive enough to think that you actually might have something fruitful to say).
Re: [Daphne – Half-educated, Labour-supporting up-and-coming women are the only ones who use ‘my dear’ sarcastically in this kind of context]
My bets are that it is a very camp man, not a woman.
[Daphne – Same difference.]
@Antoine Vella
Yes the same ones who were praised, thanked and promoted by Guido de Marco after the Nationalists won the 1987 election
Aha! But then you should know what many of us think about Demarco.