Well, as long as there was a crucifix on the wall….
timesofmalta.com, yesterday 20:18CET
Women accused of €15,000 blackmail
Two women and a teenage girl this evening pleaded not guilty to extortion of €15,300 from a man in three separate incidents.
Police sources said that the women – a mother, her daughter and her sister, – who cannot be named by court order – had allegedly blackmailed a man whom they photographed naked and about to have sex.
The sources said one of the women allegedly owed a street vendor €600. When he demanded payment, it was agreed that they would have sex and the matter would be forgotten.
The woman arranged for the other two to be in the same room and to photograph the man when he got naked. They allegedly took photos using a mobile phone and a camera.
The woman is then alleged to have showed the man the photo taken on the mobile phone and demanded cash in return for destroying the phone. Cash was handed over and the phone was destroyed.
A few days later the woman demanded and got more cash in exchange for a photograph taken using the ordinary camera.
However after the three women turned up at the man’s home with another photo and demanded more cash the police were informed.
A total of €15,300 were allegedly handed over before the man revealed everything to the police.
The incidents allegedly took place over the past two months.
The two women were each granted bail against a personal guarantee of €2000 while the girl, aged 17, was granted bail against a guarantee of €1,000.
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I’m gonna become a ‘street vendor’ – he seems to make a good living – €600 ghal nejka!
[Daphne – Eh, but with two women watching: you don’t get that for a fiver in Gzira. I trust no university students read the report….]
Actually it cost him €15,900 , didn’t you even read the article? And that’s without VAT .
Let’s reason here: 15k so his missus can’t see a pic of him about to have a shag? I think it’s time to set up a company . . .
What kind of dragon does he go home to?
For 600 Euro he could have hired a Ukrainian supermodel escort.
What’s so special about Ukrainians?
[Daphne – Simple. They’re desperate and will do anything you say as long as you promise to put a roof over their head. And please, don’t anyone tell me that’s racist.]
Actually, no. Just about the only way to get into a Ukrainian girl’s knickers is to be loaded, and promise to take her out of the Ukraine (Thank you Artur for the tip – but I’m skint, so it didn’t work).
Ukrainian girls, just like girls all over the world, also have principles and are just as choosy.
I only mentioned Ukrainian supermodels because the escort industry mainly recruits from east of the Danube.
Michelangelo Antonioni reloaded: ‘Blowup’ a la maltaise.
I don’t get the meaning of the title?
I am told he ran out of cucumbers.
Where does the crucifix come in?
Not sure where the crucifix comes in. Anyway, this scam is probably as old as the oldest profession. This is probably just the tip of the iceberg though. This kind of thing must happen all the time!
This saga reminds me of those trashy Italian films from the 80s with Edwige Fenech or Carmen Russo playing teacher/doctor/aunt, a personable young man and the horny 40+ man played by Lino Banfi et al whose dragon-wife has let herself go to seed and is always ready to nail him if she catches him fooling around. These films used to be transmitted on a loop by those Sicilian TV stations with imaginative names such as Tele Iblea, Tele Ragusa or Tele anything. I do not remember any film with a greengrocer among the characters!
At last, some fluff after Noel Arrigo and Joe Borg.
In England it’s ”the postman”. In Malta it’s ”tal haxi x”. We better watch it. We might end up encouraging Xarabank humour……….and from what I hear last Friday’s was the pits.
In Germany it’s the milkman. Mr ‘tal-haxix’ seems to be more of a milksop though.
Yep, especially, with this one on it http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091202/local/ira-losco-launches-her-photo-diary . (Note the “illallu!” in the video clip.)
U x’pajjiz tan-nejk ahna, biex imorru nies bhal Kate Gonzi, Joseph Muscat, etc – biex ma’ nsemmix daq tad-daqna li donnu jhobb jigbor l-awtografi tan-nies – ghal “book launch” ta’ kantanta? Kieku kien xi ktieb fuq l-istorja ta’ Malta jew xi haga simili, pacenzja, imma wahda mimlija ritratti ta’ kantanta? F’hix wasalna, b’dawn il-banalitajiet.
U qisu qallha xi haga imbarazzanti Joey ghax tidher imbarazzata Ira u d-dawwar wiccha ‘l hemm.
Further proof that most men think with an alternative ‘organ’.
Not alternative, primary.
Good point. Are you implying that their ‘thinking caps’ come in many colours, sizes and shapes?
And flavours.
“they came, they saw, they conquered … well nearly
So, in October it was Marazzo. November, Mussolini and December, Tal-Haxix.
What has the world come to.
I think a woman’s mind is capable of thinking of and doing extremely evil things…much more than a man.
Yes, because war, greed, torture, genocide and oppression have historically been primarily handled by women. To top it off they bloody manipulated us men to think it was us who did it.
No. They have been caused by the unavailability of women for us to get laid. So, yes, it’s their fault after all. We’re not all rapists.
Yes, my wife manages to make anything that goes wrong my fault. It’s a pity she finds law so boring!
H.P.:
What a great pickup line “sleep with me, or I’ll invade Poland”.
Thanks for the tip, Pat!
Oh don’t be silly. Men and women are equally capable of any deeds including “evil deeds”.
Historically it has been men who were responsible for war, greed, torture, genocide and oppression, mainly due to the fact that historically men have been “in power”.
These things have nothing to do with sex but with power – simple as that.
For example in a recent study I read in a magazine, 95 % of work related sexual harassment was done by men in the eighties, which was the same ratio of men in senior management positions! Today the gap is narrowing.
@David
mela ma tiehux cajta int jew?
Insejtha lil Eva?
Talking about cucumbers and ”tal-haxi x”, the below is an article in yesterday’s Telegraph. Frankly, seeing we’re spending 70 million euros on the same concept over here, perhaps Minister Gatt should have a re-think. We could all end up with the proverbial kanna not to say cucumber.
=====================================
Consumers unlikely to benefit from smart energy meters.
Consumers will see only a tiny reduction in their energy bills from a multi-million pound scheme to introduce smart energy meters to every British home, ministers have admitted.
By Holly Watt and Robert Winnett
Published: 9:30PM GMT 30 Nov 2009
The average British family will save just £28 a year by 2020 – less than three percent of the typical annual energy bill of £1,000.
With each device costing an estimated £340 to install, it means it will take more than 12 years for the initial costs of the scheme to be recouped.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change has previously issued documents claiming that the devices could save householders 10 per cent on their energy bills – equivalent to about £100 a year. Officials admitted last night however, that the average saving would be far lower.
The admission is an embarrassment for the government who had hoped the controversial scheme will form a centrepiece of the country’s plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Global leaders are preparing to meet in Copenhagen to discuss a new international climate change agreement.
It is likely to lead to serious questions over the economic viability of the £9.3 billion scheme.
Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is however still expected to announce tomorrow that every home will be fitted with a smart meter within the next decade.
The smart meter scheme will cost the equivalent of £340 per household, but it is unclear exactly who will pay initially for the devices to be installed. Ultimately, it is feared that the start-up costs will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher energy bills.
The meters allow households to be given a real-time guide to their energy usage.
The Daily Telegraph has also learned that an analysis by Chris Tripp – a director at consultants Ove Arup, which regularly advises the government – has warned there is “strong evidence that many of the claimed benefits of ‘smart meters’ reduce with time.”
Mr Tripp, who provided his analysis to the Government in the summer, is understood to have based his comments on the experiences of other countries. For example, in Denmark and the Netherlands, energy savings fell below five percent after the meters had been in place for about six months.
A spokesman for Ove Arup added that Mr Tripp “…has been in contact with some of the people involved with the roll out of smart meters in the UK – and they expect that savings made by home occupants themselves (on the basis of reading the levels on smart meters) will be as little as 2%.”
Ove Arup’s analysis is based on a traditional smart meter being installed. The spokesman also said that only far more intrusive types of smart meter would produce higher energy savings and reduced bills.
These include meters which will automatically switch off electrical appliances at peak usage times or “newer versions could be developed which emit irritating noises/buzzing when energy usage levels are too high”.
However, these meters are likely to prove unpopular with many people.
When asked by the Daily Telegraph yesterday about Ove Arup’s analysis, Mr Miliband’s department admitted that the official estimates of savings from the new meters were lower than had previously been thought.
A spokeswoman said that officials calculated that dual fuel consumers (those with electricity and gas) would save on average £28 per year by 2020.
The Energy Secretary said: “The meters most of us have in our homes were designed for a different age, before climate change. Now we need to get smarter with our energy.
“Smart meters will empower all consumers to monitor their own energy use and make reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions as a result. Smart meters will also mean the end of inaccurate bills and estimated meter readings.”
When asked why earlier documents released by the department had not referred to the average savings, the spokeswoman said the claimed 10 per cent reduction in bills had been based on a “case study”.
Dr Fiona Cochrane, energy campaigner for consumer group Which?, said: “We are concerned because it has been clear all along that there were major benefits for the energy companies and these were being guaranteed by the government, but the benefits for the consumer were rather speculative. At the moment, the only thing that is guaranteed for the consumer is accurate bills, but no energy savings.”
The department estimates the scheme will cost £9.3billion, and the savings at £11.79billion. However, according to DECC’s figures, the £11.79bn savings break down to £4.33billion for the consumer and £6.16billion for energy companies, which will make large savings because they no longer have to carry out meter readings.
Some experts believe that the scheme will ultimately cost far more than the department’s estimate.
The new smart meter system will also provide energy companies with detailed information about gas and electricity use in the country’s 26 million households.
Telecoms giants O2 and Vodafone are negotiating key roles in the organisation, which will be responsible for receiving information on electricity and gas usage in every home and passing it on to energy companies.
Ministers have repeatedly been frustrated in their attempts to force utility firms to cut bills. Following several years of sharp price increases, the average annual gas bill is now £808 while the price of an average annual electricity bill is £445, according to the price comparison website uSwitch.com.
What are your thoughts guys?
The problem is not the smart meter but what it is replacing. So whilst in Italy as in Malta it will be a huge leap forward in the UK the improvement may not justify the cost. There is also an issue of abuse which is rampant in Italy as is in Malta which can be better contained with the smart meter.
Smart not applicable to Tal-Haxix – he probably runs on a prehistoric meter! Had he upgraded he would have saved a lot of money and trouble!
Apart from the vast improvement of old meters and the ability to hamper electricity abuse, as Joseph Micallef pointed out above, there is also less administrative need as well as a huge saving in not sending people around with the arduous task of simply reading people’s meters.
70 million euro is a significant expense, but I doubt there will be the need of a 12 year recouping period for them.
“Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has earlier stated….. that a similar power station to the one we are buying was built elsewhere namely in Cyprus.
The PM’s statement was contradicted on Monday when BWSC top officials, Martin Kok Jensen and Soren Barkholt, said that this “ technology” will be the first one of its kind in the world. ”
:/
U intom l-irgiel waqqajtu ghal tuffieha!
pero iz-zerriegha eva zratha
I thought it was called pastizz. Well, to pay out that sort of money you’d have to be one big pastizz yourself.
[Daphne – I don’t think the deal was for the one shag only. I think it was for several hundred euros worth of shags, but the cunning minx came up with this way of getting out of it – which beats ‘I have my period’ or ‘I have a headache’ – while actually getting him to pay her.]
Yes but they actually did have it off, nyet?
[Daphne – No. She instructed her sister and daughter (good example, eh) to take the pictures as soon as he got naked and -er – ready. And then she called it off.]
In banning the names of the people involved, the court is being very unfair to vegetable hawkers. (L-orizzont refers to the man as “bejjiegħ tal-ħaxix”). Can’t imagine what my wife would be thinking if I were a vegetable hawker.
Well the damage has been done. He still has a chance of selling his story to the News of the World and recover some of the financial damage. Or star in a “Confessions of a bejjiegħ tal-ħaxix” movie.
Daphne, you sure have to give her some credit.
Righto. Er, what can I say. Here’s a coward who wanted to have a bit of nookie, and yet can’t bring himself to be photographed in the act. Shame on him.
Flip the coin and there’s the other side: Here’s a mother who has no qualms about proving her ultra-uberslutitude to her daughter and sister. And all for 600 measly euros.
hmmmm…would have been very tempting if all three were in bed and not just one of them, faking it while the other two took the piss behind a curtain! Poor guy…how stupid. Fantozzi is a genius compared to him.
@ Tony Pace
You must live in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ if you believe that the minister wants the smart meters installed in our homes so as we can save on our energy bills.
@carlos
you’re so right, it has nothing to do with saving on electricity, but if if’s costing us 70 million euro to stop a few crooks tampering with their meter, then we have got it so wrong.
I say, change the enforcement officers, recruit a few decent ones, and put the fines up to 5000 euro. That should put the fear of God into most of the culprits.
But I’m sorry, but to spend in this economic climate SEVENTY MILLION on meters (probably not including labour costs) at the stroke of a pen, when Piano’s Valletta project is scheduled to cost 80m, then we have really lost our sense of priorities.
Two lessons to be learned: not to think with your prick and not to be too greedy.
[Daphne – Haven’t those lessons been taught to us already, graphically over the last couple of weeks, by somebody much more important than a vegetable hawker?]
I saw the parallels too, but the tale you refer to, as I read it at least, was about greed alone. Unless, that is, the vegetable hawker asked his wife for forgiveness and as proof of his redemption he resorted to ……
re: Smart Meters
Pardon my ignorance but are the smart meters meant to cut down on utility bills ? The idea could be that when people know how much water and electricity they are actually using then they automatically start economising. Whatever, if the smart meters will mean that we will start getting actual bills regularly and that everyone who should be paying will pay, then smart meters are OK with me.
Oh I see, spend 70 million so people can learn how to economise ! u hallina Ethel.
I say spend 1 million and educate the ones who need educating. For the rest of us the bills are an education in themselves.
I am fascinated by your research, calculations and conclusions! They’re worthy of some serious academic research.
Ethel jien ghamilt l-ekonomija meta beda jigini l-kont gholi u mela noqghod nistenna l-ismart meters jew? Kieku ghidt li dawk li kienu jisirqu d-dawl issa nini nini ok, imma l-ohrajn heq, issa rridu nhallsu wkoll ghal ismart meters meta jigi kont iehor. Pacenzja.
Avolja smajt li tant hawn nies qed jitfghu d-dawl bil-lejl, li meta jigu biex jilbsu r-raincoat fil-kamra tas-sodda, jew ma jsibuhx ir-raincoat jew il-hjara! Bil-konsegwenza li qed jizdiedu c-children’s allowances!
Many are those hypocrites who hang crucifixes to their walls because they feel it is a must for us Christians, but, at the same time, do not hesitate to screw up others such as the extortion mentioned above. It is also commom to see pictures of the Blessed Virgin, Saints and the words verbum dei caro factum est on buses, whose conducters swear like mad, give the wrong change, send sms’s while driving as has been mentioned in the TOM recently, etc, etc. I am sure they still believe that God will protect them and forgive them for their sins.
How did meters get mixed up with sex and extortion? This reminds me of an old joke about the Inland Revenue Department (supposedly) calling in all prostitutes and making them install a meter you-know-where so that they would know how many times they did it, much they earned so that they could tax them….
Actually that solution was only a compromise, because initially they suggested placing a CCTV camera.
However because of the huge number of applications received from civil servants to join the department monitoring the devices – it was shelved as potentially dangerous in relation to employment relations, tertiary education and foreign investment.
No comment.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/usa/2755110/Joanna-Krupa-is-slammed-by-Catholic-Church-for-posing-as-nude-angel-in-PETA-advert.html
“Practising Catholic?” What did she practise on, dogs?
St. Bernard
What has this got to do with crucifixes? Fixated much?
LoL@men and their stupidity.
[Daphne – Quite a lot actually. We vest our ‘values’ in crucifixes on the wall, and not in our behaviour.]
I hope the vegetable man understood the deeper spiritual meaning of the crucifix: “Learning through suffering”.
@Daphne…Clearly, a classic case of do as I say not as I do..perhaps that should be first commandment of catechism classes.
@Cassandra..Did you get an eyeful of the new PETA publicity campaign regarding animal welfare – playboy nude model covering her bits with a large crucifix? Hilarious, even in in spite of its crass sex-selling ploy. But how richly ironic when the crucifix is the flag of an organisation which is historically rabidly misogynistic.
Oh the distressed flutter of many an ecumenical heart that some of the angels they worship might actually have a vagina…WHAAAAT?
Darba mara kienet qed tixxemmex topless fuq il-bejt u raqdet. Stembhet ghall-gharrieda u nesiet li kienet topless. Marret tigri tittawwal u l-ewwel persuna li rat inzerta kien tal-haxix u staqsietu “Ghandek hin”? Hu kien pront wegibha,
“Iva, min joqghodli mal-hmara m’ghandix”.
@Tony Pace
re Smart Meters – I may add that these would help sifting out the number of people who steal electricity. I still think the expense will be justified in the long term. Regarding educating – government is spending quite enough on education if that is the eduction you are referring to. Otherwise I think that discpline in all sectors will automatically ‘educate’ people.
@Ethel
1. by ‘education’ I was referring to educating the public on how to economise on electricity usage,
2. I really cannot imagine how anyone can justify spending 70 million in these times. For goodness sake that’s the cost of fixing all of our roads, and making ‘product Malta’ more competitive.
Bearing in mind that tourism is our major income earner, plus the fact that most of us have had it with crappy roads, THAT is certainly a priority.