Saviour Balzan says we shouldn't discuss Noel Arrigo
You’d have thought that Malta Today would be right out there investigating the scandal of Mount Carmel mental hospital being used as a comfortable open prison for ex chief justices who take bribes from drug traffickers, and their cocaine-dealing, go-between former schoolmates.
But no.
I did briefly wonder why, then I remembered that Malta Today never had much to say about Noel Arrigo and even kept its trap shut during the trial, when this was the one subject its readers were talking about.
Mmmmm, I said to myself. Give it time.
When John Dalli’s brother (the priest, not the soap-smuggler) was wheeled out as a character witness for Arrigo, I knew that Malta Today was never going to have anything to say about the man.
Then last Sunday, I read the views of the brave, brilliant and utterly coherent Malta Today columnist (and Malta Today owner) Saviour Balzan, criticising all those who discussed Noel Arrigo while his case was still ‘sub judice’, because they denied him the right to a fair trial.
Oh ha, ha, bloody ha.
Saviour Balzan, using the fiction of ‘sub judice’ as an excuse for not writing about the disgraced judge who almost went to Lourdes with Gorg Dalli, and what’s more, rapping all those naughty journalists who didn’t do as he did – what a joke.
But there’s more.
Balzan is now demanding that we all keep quiet about Noel Arrigo because he might appeal. This is the Saviour Balzan who runs aggressive stories about politicians right across his front page without bothering to stick to the basic principle of hitting that telephone and getting their side of the story.
This is the same Saviour Balzan who did what he did to then police commissioner Gorg Grech – running a relentless summer-long campaign about his sexual encounters with a spiteful slag whose intentions were so pure that she kept stained underwear as ‘evidence’.
Saviour would have had a lot more fun with the ex chief justice, but obviously he didn’t want to.
Now it’s time to wonder why, given that Malta Today appears to be 100% agenda-driven, a wheel on which Saviour Balzan grinds his axes and those of his close friends. That’s probably the reason Gorg Grech was targeted: he was the police commissioner who went after one of Balzan’s ‘friends’ in a very high profile cocaine-dealing and attempted murder case.
But Arrigo – eh, dak le, hija. Dak sub judice.
Just listen to what the ridiculous Saviour Balzan had to say in his column last Sunday:
“The second item on Joe Azzopardi’s programme was Noel Arrigo; given that the man might consider appealing the sentence and of course he would expect a fair trial – this consideration is not on anyone’s mind, not even on the mind of Natalino Fenech or Joe Pirotta, the two men who should be deciding editorial policy. Since when are debates on TVM about cases which are sub judice or still subject to appeal allowed?”
Somebody please tell this paragon of journalism that there is no such thing as ‘sub judice’. The term merely means that a case is still pending for conclusion before the courts. It is not a law that bans print or broadcast discussion of the trial. Any such ban must be made specifically by the judge or magistrate in a particular case – and there was no such ban in the trial of Noel Arrigo.
Imagine the public outcry if there were.
Most of those bans were illegal anyway – an abuse of the judge’s or magistrate’s authority – which is why we so rarely get them nowadays.
And Balzan had to learn this from me.
But I don’t think so. I think he knows it already. Call me a suspicious lady, but I can’t help thinking there’s a connection between Gorg Dalli sticking his neck out like a prat to tell us that he almost took Noel Arrigo to Lourdes, and Malta Today’s demands that we all keep quiet about Noel Arrigo.
Oh, another thing Balzan needs to know: cases on appeal were never subject to ‘sub judice’ restrictions, even in the days when editors believed in the fiction. The reason is simple: public discussion was banned on the understanding that it would influence the soft brains of jurors. But where there are no jurors, as with an appeals court, there can be no such influence.
No, for the appeals court, at least when Noel Arrigo and Patrick Vella sat there, influence came in the form of brown envelopes full of cash, not articles in the newspapers.
And Saviour, you silly twat – oh dear, I meant twit – there were no jurors in Noel Arrigo’s actual trial either, so who was going to be influenced by public discussion: Judge Caruana Demajo? I don’t think so, honey. And besides, it’s libellous to suggest that.
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Daphne, you are so clever and honest! Well done for calling a spade a spade!
The level of journalism in Balzan’s Malta Today compares well to Cassar’s Ix-Xewka. Unfortunately it looks like he missed the coffee making job in Brussels because it might turnout that it would be more advantageous to some for him to remain here in Malta.
Maybe it’s because Balzan is an ex Edwardian teacher? The guy never impressed us at school and fails to do so today.
Except when some rogues would turn off the “salvavita” outside his class room on a cold Friday night, and kill all the fish in his aquariums for lack of heating….
[Daphne – Oh my god, Alex. So you lot are to blame for his rage against humanity. You killed his frigging goldfish, and now he hates us all.]
Ah! those Environmental Studies lessons…
Saviour taught at St Eds? Wow. Really, wow. Not that it’s surprising…. most of the teachers there (at the college, no idea about the school) fell somewhere along a gradient between eccentric and batsh!t crazy.
What did he teach?
Daphne, we are not to blame for his rage. He came to our school already wound up really tight and although we might have helped in making him even more angry we cannot be blamed. Mr Balzan as we then called him was OK and we had our fair share of fun with him too (especially because the subject he thought was a bit of an “easy” subject) but he quickly went from Mr Nice Guy to Mr Angry. I remember when one of my friends managed to get hold of a newspaper cutting of Mr Balzan shackled to the railings at Castille. He stuck it up on the notice board and when Mr Balzan saw it he snatched it off the board and went into a rage. I can still remember the convict jokes.. oh zmien helu fejn hallejtni.
Daphne, please do not ever think of stopping this blog. It is the only one I really enjoy reading.
Tassew PROSIT!
I used to admire Malta Today for being the only newspaper that investigated certain situations and discussed certain issues.
However, then it became blatantly obvious they had an agenda and they were very selective as to which stories they pick, when they failed to even mention that the brother (not 5th cousin twice removed) of a minister is being investigated for attempted drug trafficking/importation. I remember buying the newspaper on Sunday specifically to see what Malta Today had to say about this subject. To my surprise it was nothing.
This blog probably has more readers than his paper too. His circulation figures are almost as inflated as his ego, and that’s saying something. Maybe he might write about a topic one day without mentioning himself. Then again, maybe not. It’s unfortunately what has made some people afraid of him. People should wake up and either ignore him or kick him in the balls (verbally, of course). Like a schoolground bully, his only reaction then is to cry. Or sue (ask Lou Bondi)…
Incidentally, does anyone know that his new convertible Saab was impounded by the ADT because he didn’t sort out the paper work in time? It’s the only good thing they’ve done this year. Can’t you just imagine the conversation… ‘But don’t you know who I am…’ The warden or inspector should be awarded worker of the year.
Here’s another Saviour Balzan political howler which surprisingly everyone seems to have missed. When the Mistra village story hit the headlines, this is what Balzan had to say about JPO: “Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has bravely and unexpectedly stated that he will not choose Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando as a minister on his Cabinet. The next step is to ask JPO to resign as MP and party member for having lied in public.” Malta Today (12 March, 2008). So in 2008, JPO was the political devil incarnate and a liar. He deserved to be banished from politics completely.
Fast forward to 2009, and here is Saviour on JPO: “JPO is one of a kind. …He happens to be as resilient as an olive tree in the unkind Maltese summer…JPO has decided to specialise in the art of not mincing his words – incredibly refreshing for any journalist. He is after all an articulate man who managed the Mistra saga in a remarkably silly way for his position, considering the timing of the MEPA application with the March 2008 election.” Malta Today (1 Nov, 2009). So now, JPO is no longer a liar and the Mistra business was just a bit of silliness and bad timing.
Of course, the fact that between these two articles John Dalli miraculously developed a calling for being a political father confessor in search of acolytes had nothing to do with Saviour’s sleazy volte face.
[Daphne – Oh, I didn’t miss it. This was exactly what I was thinking about on the drive home, planning to upload my thoughts on the subject. But you beat me to it. You know there’s a John Dalli agenda somewhere every time Malta Today picks on something out of the blue. Miskin Tonio Fenech.]
As the Maltese saying goes: Kollox mahdum bizzilla.
I don’t think Tonio Fenech is a miskin. The finance minister has no business going on personal trips with very prominent businessmen even as he claims he paid his own expenses. What many people don’t like is the selectiveness of the attacks. Why Tonio and not the others too?
[Daphne – That’s exactly what I meant, Ronnie. Valid stories are rendered less valid if people perceive an agenda behind them. If Malta Today maintains absolute silence on the matter of Bastjan Dalli running off to Libya when he is wanted for questioning by the police on the little matter of a soap-smuggling expedition, then goes gunning for Tonio Fenech, people don’t just perceive an agenda in the silence over Bastjan Dalli, but also an agenda – most likely for the same reason – in the stories about Tonio Fenech.]
Will we see Saviour Balzan on Bondi + one day? (with you and Daphne preparing the questions?)
This article was published one week after Noel Arrigo was arraigned.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2002/0811/opinion.html
[Daphne – And nothing else in the seven years since…..]
Look Daphne, I have a truckful of better things to do than trawl through the Malta Today editions of the past seven years to answer your question. The fact is that ’sub judice’ was not on SB’s radar when there was a case but it pops up when there isn’t one.
Brilliant! I’m also a suspicious lady and I can’t wait for you to find the missing piece of this jigsaw.
And another point: the circus put an advert in Malta Today this week. That will probably mean we won’t hear anything on the controversy about that either!
@Ronnie
Bingo ?!
Well what do you expect from a man who writes that
“When years back I militated in the pro-Europe movement IVA, the idea was to get us into Europe as quickly as is possible.
Many accused us then of being in IVA to improve our careers and get on to Brussels. Yes, they were right in some cases – such as in the case of the very ambitious Joanna Drake and the arrogant and partisan David Casa: they were the best examples of individuals who saw IVA as a stepping-stone to their political futures.”
[Daphne – “The very ambitious Joanna Drake” – what an envious so-and-so. How about the ‘extremely able and supremely qualified and competent Joanna Drake”, Saviour?]
He will leave those adjectives for Harry Vassallo.
Saviour Balzan should say that while he was in the Moviment IVA he was being paid as a consultant on environmental matters. He was paid, for example, to persuade BirdLife and the hunters’ federation to agree not to attack each other and stir up trouble during the months leading to the referendum.
I do not buy the Malta Today but when I go to buy the Sunday papers (nearly always the same time 11.30 to noon) I like having a look at the front-page news of this paper and also what amounts are still stacked to be sold and believe me the pile is gaining height.
Inflating circulation figures is one good way of laundering……
Now think.
George Fenech was granted a licence to operate a casino at Portomaso on 9 March 2004. But it is not Tonio Fenech that granted it. Oh no. It was John Dalli, on, please note the date, his last day as minister of finance… there’s more, soon after dalli, the minister who always declared he was impoverished in his ministerial declarations, moved to Portomaso – just to oversee the casino no doubt. Investigate that one, dear Saviour.
You’ve all convinced me not to buy Malta Today any more. And what about his attitude towards the police? And Richard Cachia Caruana?
And Daphne, I thought Taste was going to have some serious competition with the publication of Gourmet. Yes, more a case of Man United versus Bubaqra Rangers.
Allow me to send my comment in Maltese:
Saviour Balzan jahseb li hu xi Alla tal-gurnalizmu. Jikteb u jattakka lil min irid minghajr hniena ta’ xejn imma imbaghad, ara ma jfettillekx taghmillu xi libell ghax jaghmel minn kollox biex ikissrek permezz tal-gazzetta tieghu, Malta Today.
Il-proverbju jghid: “Kull min jgholli jdejh ghandu xi jxomm” u perswaz li hekk ghandu Saviour Balzan. Il-kitba tieghu fil-Malta Today hija biss biex isawwat lil min jahsel jigi f’mohhu. Dnub li ma tghallem xejn mill-esperjenza li ghadda minnha.
Noel Arrigo is an easier target to criticize than the police. Unlike all other newspapers and journalists, Saviour Balzan had the guts to investigate police malpractices.
The police in Malta are in dire need of reform, this won’t be done unless there is more pressure from the public.
Hi Daphne,
I know that this has nothing to do with this commentary but I’d like to see what you think.
I recently read an article on The Economist under the section of Books and arts. It’s about Ayn Rand a Russian Jew, I found it very interesting and to be tell you the truth, while reading it, I drew some similarities of this lady’s views on the role of government and your views.
Do you know about this lady? What do you think about her and your views, am I wrong?
Thanks
Jake
[Daphne – Ayn Rand’s views are spelled out in her book Atlas Shrugged. No, I don’t agree with her at all. The ‘survival of the fittest’, ‘every man for himself’ approach to economic theory is a recipe for disaster. It won’t even work from the human perspective, because human beings are social animals, form social groups and live in a state of mutual dependency to a greater or lesser extent. Ayn Rand applied her personal approach to her private life to the wider world – she was completely egocentric. It didn’t work in her private life, either. I’m a liberal (the British, not American, definition of the term), but I draw the line at a certain point. The consequences of the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century, for example, were exacerbated by liberal political decisions which sought to have the market right itself, while millions died and millions of others were shipped out to Ellis Island in New York. That kind of extremism horrifies me.]
That was interesting. To be honest I only read that article about her in The Economist.
Thanks for your comments.
Since when is Saviour Balzan using silk gloves? It is true what my grandma use to tell me that (I really must quote this in Maltese) “kull hadd ihobba ‘l ligi imma hadd ma irida wara biebu”.
Honestly, when I see Saviour defending Arrigo, Bondi defending Scerri, and now even priests speaking out in courts, my goodness, since when? U ajma kulhadd li jaqbel lilu u miskin hu dak li ma ghandu ‘l hadd. The older I get the more I can see through people and the more I lose faith in people who speak out as it seems that they are OK with some but beware if you touch their agenda.