Michelle Muscat takes a cue from Noel Arrigo
Mr and Mrs Progressive Leader
Mrs Progressive Leader has taken her cue from Noel Arrigo and is here seen brandishing her rosary beads in public as she and her husband the Leader walk up the aisle to receive the Eucharist from Pope Benedict’s hand.
This was not just a public relations stunt to let electors know how in she is with the Roman Catholic Church even though she and her husband are hoping to get themselves elected to power by promising things they won’t deliver to those who want divorce.
It was also a Cunning Plan to get her set of beads ‘touched by the Pope’s hand’, thereby creating for herself a relic a la The Pardoner’s Tale written by Geoffrey Chaucer in medieval times.
Very progressive. Witnesses tell me that as she received communion Mrs Leader brought her beads up and pressed them to the pope’s hands, a gesture noticed by many and deemed highly inappropriate.
Now let’s all take bets on the next opportunistic public display of rosary beads.
Sandro Chetcuti anyone?
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Hi Daphne,
Don’t know your email address, so messaging you here instead. Thought my point should merit a post on your blog, as its another case of shoddy journalism. The geniuses at the timesofmalta.com have this story running.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100419/local/hindus-disappointed-at-lack-of-inter-faith-references-during-popes-visit
I sent the following comment:
>>Note to everyone: Rajan Zed is a self-appointed “hindu leader” who regularly courts self-serving publicity by making controversial proclamations to anyone who bothers to listen to him. He does not represent a fraction of a percent of hindus, and hardly any of them have ever heard of him, never mind recognize him as any sort of leader. The “Universal Society of Hinduism” is just Rajan’s publicity machine. A quick google search will verify that fact. So please refrain from your knee-jerk reaction in associating his statement to represent the view of hindus everywhere. Also, the Times of Malta is irresponsible in that it keeps reporting his statements regularly, giving him publicity with headlines like “Hindus disappointed at lack of inter-faith references during Pope’s visit” that give the impression that he speaks on behalf of all hindus everywhere.<<
But of course the moderators completely ignored it, and instead stoke the flames of divisiveness, as evident in the comments they do publish.
Other stories featuring Rajan Zed in the times in the past:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100117/local/hindus-call-for-meeting-with-pope-in-malta
http://stocks.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090331/local/hindu-leader-urges-malta-to-treat-religions-equally
Cheers
Imbaghad jghidu li m’hawnx censura go Malta! HA!
Same thing happened to me lotsa times, Mobi. Nothing you can do about it. Just keep up the good work.
I have written to The Times about Islam many times but they never publish my comments. They have a hidden agenda which favours Muslims.
[Daphne – Oh come on.]
Il-veru miskina
Not to mention that saying the rosary during mass is very bad manners because it means that you are not paying any attention.
Oh come on now Daphne! YOU REALLY NEED A BREAK … how about a relaxilng cruise away from the local news, Maltastar etc. :)
And what happened to your previous blog article? It’s not here anymore. Censored by the holy ones at OPM?
[Daphne – I get away all the time. I just don’t tell you about it. It’s the internet, remember – I could be in Shanghai or Toronto or Berlin and you wouldn’t know about it. It’s not like I’m going to let anyone know. Just rest assured that I don’t take a policeman with me, or find interesting uses for chopsticks. What previous blog article? Nothing’s been removed. As for the holy ones at OPM, do please stop chewing on the stupid and deeply unprogressive propaganda that if a woman does something successful, there must be a man or men behind it. Is that really how the left thinks nowadays? So sad.]
you need a break from the internet too! :)
[Daphne – I work on the internet. Or do you come from the progressive standpoint that decrees men should work while women should take ample breaks?]
Wolf in sheep’s clothing il-Mrs Leader. Tghid qerret qabel tqarbnet? Ghandha hafna xi tqerr.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing? She’d better stay away from that man Tyrrell then.
Is there more beneath the surface?
kint ser najdlek xanda xi tqerr… ahjar hadd ma jajd xejn… nahseb laktar li andu xi jqerr bhal isa Mr Gonzii :pp.. haha how funny juw ppl.. you just make me smile.. tipruvaw taraw ma xix ha taqbdu.. biex taljenaw lil poplu xinu jigri fil pajjiz.. haba dal gvern lana,, ima hat mu ser jigi aljenat.. sry :pp…
[Daphne – Does the Labour grotto have an army of sub-literate elves who write in text-speak?]
Sorry what did you just said?? NO I`m not literate I can assure you… I just wrote what i felt.. I don`
As a labourite I can only ‘face-palm’ myself to such a comment dearest ‘Funny’…
But seriously Daphne, nothing better to write about?
Geez woman… do you REALLY have to pick on every little BS that happens? So what if she wanted her ‘kuruna’ touched by the Pope? Once I followed and “harassed” a rock-band’s singer in a cheap London souvenir shop, just to get an autograph! I guess everyone has different idols no?
(P.S. I found it too (in)appropriate to put ‘beads’ ‘touched’ and ‘Pope’ in the same sentence).
This is typical of the confusion in the minds of Maltese Catholics where religion is concerned. In exercising their beliefs – and in breaking the commandments – they invariably lay it on thick.
The mass and the Eucharist are specific and commemorate the giving of his life by Jesus for the redemption of mankind. Persons receiving the Eucharist participate in that sacrifice. It is the base upon which all the rest is founded.
The rosary is another thing altogether; it is a prayer to the Mother of God and, in that sense, it has no relevance to the mass and the Eucharist and so no place there.
Recitation of the rosary, or just fiddling with rosary beads, during mass is a negation of the mass itself and all that the mass stands for.
Sad, Daphne… Very sad.
If you think that it is just Labourites who consider you negatively, you’re wrong.
What is a pity is that you have often raised very true and often uncomfortable issues in a brilliant manner only then to come up with posts such as these.
[Daphne – Have I at any point in the last two decades come across to you as somebody who gives a flying wotsit? Right then. If you think it is only Nationalists who consider me favourably, you’re wrong. For a start, the entire Labour Party hierarchy would kill, maim, bribe or steal to have me on their/your side. The only reason they don’t ‘like’ me is because I don’t like them and give off no signals that I could be paid or otherwise persuaded to change my mind. It’s not what I write that they don’t like, but the fact that I write it about them. Well, hard cheese to that.]
Sad, Whoa,there…Very sad. What is a pity is that you will never open your mind to what is decent and what’s not.
You’re mistaking Daphne for Marisa. The first lady is not for sale whilst the latter went to the highest bidder.
You have to understand that this is her blog so she chooses what to say and what not to. Trust me I’m not happy that she didn’t mention the “religious nut” speech by Abela or Gonzi’s dumbass joke, but again this is her blog and she decides what to talk about, not you or me.
Whenever it’s something about Michelle I don’t bother (yeah she reminds me of my fanatical Catholic nanna with the beads and touching them against popes u hekk), but at the end of the day Michelle is irrelevant to me, albeit a bit old fashioned she’s not the leader of PL and therefore never said that she was progressive.
If she’s not acting progressive or whatever, then it probably means she is her own person and/or doesn’t let Joseph tell her how to act, so good for her.
And seriously? You think that Labourites want you on their side? As political ammunition, it makes sense -But as a party’s moral, ethical, legitimate and rational integrity… I highly doubt it. Don’t flatter yourself DCG. To be very honest with you, I don’t think anyone really wants you on anyone’s side… You clearly proclaimed yourself on the Nationalists’ side.. but the question is: do they really want you? Or are they merely tolerating you because you persistently break the Labourites’ cojones?
But fear not Lady DCG! Your blogs, articles or whatever are great potty-literature! They churn my bowels pretty well when I’m sitting on my throne!
[Daphne – You people just can’t move beyond the lavatorial humour, can you. Believe me, sweetheart, if Joseph Muscat was prepared to pay EUR40,000 a year to buy Marisa Micallef’s silence (something he had already, but the man has no business sense), I could retire on what he’d be prepared to pay me. However, he knows I’m not for sale, despite getting that midget Kurt Farrugia to persuade his parrots into repeating the allegation that I’m paid by the PN. If he really thinks that, then it begs the question: why doesn’t he pay me more and have me move over to his side? Useless jerks – not a shred of logic between them.]
Sounds like you’re trying to ‘raise funds’ over here! No hard feelings DCG, but I simply think that your comments, allegations and criticisms have reached a point where politicians can simply brush them off their shoulders. The only people they wind up are ‘conservative-labourites’ like Mr/Ms Funny who enlighten the world wide web with their sheer intellect.
P.S. Lavatorial humour is amusing… and sometimes rightly merited.
[Daphne – Bingo! You’ve got it at last! Politicians can brush off comments like mine! It’s taken you a long time to work out what the rest of the democratic world has known for a couple of centuries at least. You and your Labour cohorts are still too prone to reacting like fundamentalist Muslims to a Danish cartoon. So backward, so tiresome.]
Oh come on DCG, don’t get all wound up :) Let’s both get back to our fundamentalist stuff shall we?
Jiena nammirakom għax intom ma tibżgħu minn ħadd u tibqgħu għaddejjin. Jien għalhekk inħobbkom.
Dom Mintoff, Joe Grima and Joe Debono Grech, but before the next general elections.
Dio li fa e poi li accoppia
It is said that “who dares win” – maybe they are not really winning but they are trying their best and damn near getting away with it all.
Daphne, I always like what you write, but pressing rosary beads against His Holiness’ hand is nothing when compared to receiving Holy Communion from the Pontiff after publicly saying “Iva Nghollihom il-kontijiet tad-dawl, u nghollijom bil-qalb”.
I say this with all due respect to you and your writings and with no bad feelings.
Noel you are a victim of Labour’s propaganda. If I were you I’d write a strong letter of complaint to Joseph Muscat and ask him to stop fooling around with your mind.
Mr. Vella, I can assure you that I am not a victim of no one’s propaganda. I try my best to see things objectively and there have been many times when I have agreed with some of Daphne’s points. This time round I feel that this post was quite irrelevant which is why I decided to comment.
The only way out of this is not by writing letters of complaint, cos probably no one will take any notice of these letters.
Noel Zarb, I was being sarcastic (about the complaint letter).
You have totally misrepresented Gonzi’s words and what he really meant, but that is not your fault. You are simply accepting PL propaganda without questioning its veracity. One must be quite naive to imagine any PM saying that he is happy to raise the water and electricity rates. Surely the absurdity of the PL’s accusation must have occurred to you.
Noel Zarb iehor mhawwad f’xinhu tajjeb u x’inhu hazin.
Il kliem “Iva nghollihom il-kontijiet tad-dawl, u nghollijom bil-qalb” kienu ovvjament f’kuntest partikolari, jigifieri biex l-ekonomija tissahhah, titwarrab il-hela ta’ilma w tal-elettriku, u biex minn huwa hali ma jibqax jerda minn fuq hadd iehor. Dawk kollha ghajiet tajbin u jwasslu ghal-gid ta’ kullhadd – inkluz tieghek, Noel.
Noel, il-hazin huwa li taqbad xi kliem li jkun qal hadd iehor u tuzah barra mil-kuntest li jkun intqal biex titfa dell fuq minn ikun qalu, jigifieri kif ghamilt inti. Hsibta din qabel ma INTI tqarbint, Noel?
Good Point Two News…I am not one to quarrel, and I do have to say that you are right in what you say about things being grabbed and used in the wrong context, and I do agree with what you said about what Dr. Gonzi said li jghollijom bil-qalb. There are however, other means how the economy can be sustained (and having one of the highest surcharges in the EU is not one of them). Coming to a better deal with bus drivers without spending all that money.
Another thing…jien ma tqarbintx ghax lanqas biss kont hemm.
Two wrongs doesn’t make one right…it’s useless bringing the past back to us, when we are all quite grateful that we do not live in that past anymore
I don’t recall eddie saying “nghollihom bil-qalb”….but you should read what he said after “ha jgholew il prezzijiet”….but you won’t find what he REALLy said on l-orizzont/torca/superone/kulhadd/maltastar
Pero, I never mentioned Eddie lol in any of this. Dear ASP try and recall what Dr. Gonzi said about the Electricity Bills and you will find out that that was what he actually said, and he said it with a certain level of malice in his voice, like it is his aim in life!
And FYI, My only point of reference for news online is Times of Malta, and this blog. I don’t even bother to read the scum on TYOM.com because I don’t quite need my days to be filled with pointless transvestite comparisons with unfounded claims with the main purpose is to stir shit. Well, they are still stirring shit, but right in front of a fan…and we all know what happens when shits hits the fan.
@ Noel. “There are however, other means how the economy can be sustained.”
So where does the Eucharist come into it? If you are so knowledgeable about how to develop and sustain the economy, why not write an article in a serious publication and tell us all about it, instead of commenting here.
“Coming to a better deal with bus drivers without spending all that money.”
Oh, I see. You mean, like when Mintoff in government took over Malta Airways, the National Bank, Scicluna’s Bank, premises for MLP clubs, and whatever else he could grab without paying out rightful compensation. Mhemx ghalfejn tghidilna minn fejn gejt, Noel.
“Another thing…jien ma tqarbintx ghax lanqas biss kont hemm.”
Jien ma ghadx li inti tqarbint fuq il-fossos; is-sagrament huwa l-istess anke postijiet ohra. Il-pont huwa jekk inti tqarbintx jew le, meta tant inti lest, bhall-Laburisti mdallmin kollha, biex thammeg lil-haddiehor u, aktar u aktar, tinqeda’ bis-sagrament tat-tqarbin biex tghamel dan.
Blessed are the selfish, for they will inherit the Labour Leadership.
She has a very nice dress, however. Well, better than that silver stuff.
I must confess, I’ve come to LOVE visiting TYOM.com.
It is indeed rare to find a website where I really, imma really, have to concentrate on trying to understand wtf they are trying to say/prove/portray/analyse.
You especially have to absolutely adore some of their totally nonsensical comments.
My favourite ones are those where someone comes along and says “I voted PN last time, now because of DCG and her parrinu Lorry who won’t stop her, I’m not voting PN again”, followed by thunderous rounds of applause.
That cracks me up.
Do these morons actually think anyone believes them? Whoever says that, and whoever ‘applauds’, are people who have always voted Labour in the first place. You don’t need a degree to figure that one out.
In any case, let’s think about that sort of statement for a moment.
Saying something like that is tantamount to a follower of Daphne’s blog saying “because of Daphne, I’m going to vote PN.”
In both cases, nobody in their right mind would “waste” their vote based on the writings of one person.
There is vast distinction between that, and saying “because of what Daphne is exposing about the Labour Party’s attitude-cum-lunacy as portrayed by their leader, officials, followers, functionaries, media, and their current TOTAL lack of a single concrete policy, I am not going to vote for Labour at this rate”.
So listen up, you trollops over at TYOM – If your intention was to ‘counter-balance’ Daphne’s blog, you are achieving quite the opposite. Based on what you and followers write, you are merely pushing people with a reasonable IQ more towards voting for the Nationalist Party come next musical-chairs day.
Of course, there is their claim that they are ‘non-political’. Boy, if I were a Labour Party strategist, I’d ask TYOM to close shop now.
The beauty of it, for the Nationalist Party, is that the Labour Party actually thinks TYOM is doing them good.
Keep it up fellows … I’m sure the PN strategists (and they are masters at it), are having a field-day with TYOM and the good it is doing to their party.
From whichever way you look at TYOM, if there ever was a classic case of ‘twaqqa ig-gebla fuq saqajk’, you are it.
I, because of Daphne will vote PN.
Fair enough.
However, I think it would be more of a compliment to Daphne’s professionalism if you say …
.. because of what Daphne is exposing about the Labour Party’s attitude-cum-lunacy as portrayed by their leader, officials, followers, functionaries, media, and their current TOTAL lack of a single concrete policy, I am going to vote PN ….
That’s what makes the difference between Daphne’s blog and tyom, mlatasart etc.
I, because of Joseph Muscat et al will vote PN.
Now that I’ve stopped laughing, here is what those literary masters over at tyom wrote about my comment above :
——————————————————–
‘Fuck off Alan’
Alan Mr no – name .
Get your nose out of your bosses crack and smell the real world .Too long you have been up Vladi ( Your Saviours) ass ,Alan Brown Nose .
——————————————————–
I just love it when the truth hits a raw nerve.
Veru kultura ta’ xi nanna tan-1960s.
Here’s one that really caught my attention during the pope’s visit: the sight of the president (and the speaker of the house, and the prime minister, and the leader of the opposition, and cabinet ministers, and the chief justice) bowing to a visiting head of state and kissing his hand. Surreal.
Could it be because that is the protocol? Perhaps they were not kissing him in his capacity of Head of State but in his capacity of Head of the Roman Catholic Church…
And since they all profess the Roman Catholic religion, they were bowing and kissing the hand of the head of the religion to which they belong.
This is not surreal at all.
It would have been surreal had they bowed to the Queen of Great Britain. Then again, if one of them happened to be Anglican he would be bowing to the head of his religion.
I think protocol is pretty tricky stuff – one should not rush to draw conclusions.
To my knowledge, the British Queen and the Pope are the only two heads of State who are also heads of a religion. So in their case, there would seem to be a different protocol than in the case of other Heads of State or Heads of Religion.
One would ask whether, should the Patriarch of Constantinople ever visit, for instance, would there be an obligation to kiss his ring or whatever is done as a sign of respect to the Patriarch?
To those who are not versed in protocol, myself included, it looked very much like a sign of submission or obedience. (Bowing can also be interpreted as a sign of respect, but only when a bow is reciprocated.) A handshake would have been more appropriate, considering that the president was representing the state – the host state! Can’t see, say, Sarkozy – also a Roman Catholic – doing anything like this.
Julian, if you watched closely you’ll have seen Catholic ambassadors do the same. That’s because the Pope is a special case: head of state and head of the Church.
how about jason azzopardi wanting to make sure he s on camera and everyone is watching him having a small chat (the longest one from all cabinet members) with the pope?
i thin he s on similiar grounds daphne.
i cannot understand why you tend to be so biased at times?
i am a floater and after reading your articles i started to form a picture on PL. but then, a wise person would say, is PL so pure and virgin?
but JM will be the next prime minister
Some people get to be jealous and cannot hide it so they have a web site and share there jealous thoughts.
[Daphne – Don’t be so obscure, Ray. Exactly who are you taking about? The Labour Party with Maltastar and tasteyourownmedicine?]
And then there are those who don’t seem to know the difference between “there” and “their”.
Dearest Daphne… why don’t you also inquire whether your beloved leader Gonzi has confessed all his sins [such as lying and false promises], before receiving the holy Eucharist from the his Holyness’ hands???? Don’t you have anything better to do than raising false issues which harm other people?
BG, raising false issues is exactly what you just did.
Doing it to Gonzi is OK, but God forbid if the GREAT LEADER is mentioned. What a hypocrite.
Those ‘????’ are a dead giveaway. Hysterical.
BG, anyone would think that Daphne’s blog is compulsory reading material. Nobody is forcing you to follow it if you’d rather read something else. Try maltastar.com for a change: a fine website if ever there was one, informative and educational.
…and entertaining
Antoine, and don’t forget please that maltastar was created by the Great Leader.
BG, talking about false issues just goes to show that you must believe all that you read in the crap papers and online news portals. Kemm hawn nies cwiec, jahasra! You’re the kind of person who probably still believes in Father Christmas and the tooth fairy.
BG – you confuse matters or are you one of the many Labour supporters who are permanently confused?
Lawrence Gonzi does what he feels is best for the country in line with the country’s particular needs – government stategy has nothing to do whatsoever with receiving the Holy Eucharist from his Holiness.
I Agree :))… this is soo true.. :D
*PN
Dear Daphne, this reminds me when I used to go with my grandma to mass pre-‘Vatican Council 2’ reform. In those days – a common scene in churches was – old ladies not understanding the proceedings of mass in Latin and saying the rosary in Maltese throughout.
For those who are not 50+, this is a brief description of what used to happen: there used to be several masses celebrated simultaneously. At some point, an altar boy would ring a bell to announce that it was time for the Eucharist. Everyone would go to the altar. Most of the old ladies didn’t bother leaving the rosary beads behind and went up for Holy Communion with the beads still wrapped around their hands.
Maybe Mrs Leader is mimicking this and thinking it is something traditional minn zmien in-nanniet, rather than the result of ignorance.
Well done for all your sterling work, Daphne. You keep me glued to your blog.
I’m sure you’re right, G Borg. What a progressive party indeed! Well, I guess it couldn’t be more progressive – the old meets new. I bet they see it as a metaphor too – to pass on the word that both the old and the young will flourish under the PL.
Kemm qieghda sew miskina, Mrs Joseph.
@ Wolf
staqsi lil dawk li kienu jahdmu tahtha meta kienet PA tal-ministru (96-98)
The butcher’s daughter from hell.
Why? What happened then?
@Rita The PN is definitely not pure. Far from it. But we have to admit that our country progressed and flourished ONLY when there was the PN governing it. Yes I could hate the guts of the individuals individually. But look how our country has prospered whenever PN was at the helm.
Sorry, I’m a staunch Nationalist but I’m with BG on this. People were there because they were invited and needed to be seen. My reactions were very similar, whatever party they represented. Such a pity, when one considers the number of true sufferers and believers. As far as I’m concerned, the only genuine part of it all, religious wise, was the meeting with the youngsters. One must live in hope!
[Daphne – People were there because they were invited. It’s good manners to accept an invitation and bad manners to reject it, unless you wish to make a statement by doing so or have a legitimate excuse for your inability to accept. For God’s sake, aren’t people taught these things at home?]
People do accept invites just to be seen. I don’t believe manners have come into it all that much in this case. Quite a few could have come up with legitimate excuses to not attend, I think! And it would not have served any purpose to make statements against the church in this country, far too much is at stake for all aspiring politicians.
The correct word is not ‘invites’, it is ‘invitations’.
‘Invites’ is something straight out of the script of bad U.S. gangster films.
Unfortunately, ‘invites’ is also used frequently even in The Times.
Getting to the actual event, whenever a head of state visits, it is standard practice for local dignitaries to be invited – even if the conduct of some of those falls far short of what one should ordinarily expect from persons in that role.
I spent my primary school years with Michelle. I haven’t met her in ages but I still feel I know her. She was always one of the smartest pupils and was always a loyal friend. Hard to believe that she turned into a ‘wolf’. I would describe her as ‘genuine’ and ‘down to earth’.
I bet the rosary beads are already on ebay!
You so sad Daphne. You need help
[Daphne – This being the official Labour line ‘Daphne is a miskina who needs help, preferably psychiatric.’ Obviously, you haven’t noticed that I’ve been doing this since 1990. The really interesting thing is that I still have the capacity to rile you so badly, even after two decades.]
… her dress is really cute though…
[Daphne – One doesn’t wear a cute dress to a pontifical mass. One wears a sober one. Cute dresses are for parties.]
Cute dresses are for under-8s, if that.
[Daphne – We’re in Malta, Grezz. Grown women are expected to be ‘cute’.]
@Daphne – The brainless ones maybe. (I mean the brainless women think they have got to look/act cute to get anywhere, and the brainless men think that women are only “real women” if they look/act cute.)
I’m not so sure I agree with this, that in Malta grown women are expected to be ‘cute’.
In London, (well, the whole of the UK actually), women are wearing dresses that would fit mostly 10-year-olds. If one visits online shopping websites, such as asos, it’s very easy to see these ‘cute’ dresses for older women.
I’m not saying I like them, I’m just saying that it’s not ‘only in Malta’.
[Daphne – We’re talking about women in top jobs here, and no, they’re not expected to be ‘cute’ in Britain, but rather the opposite. Play it cute, and the assumption is that you’re forced to do that because you have none of the attributes that the business really needs, like brains.]
Dear Daphne, how come no mention of that horrid picture on FIRST, out with the indy on sunday yesterday? The one with that pool and those two kitsch dresses. And that smirk look on the sofa?
[Daphne – I work for the same organisation, and so must refrain from trashing my colleagues however much they might do it to me. However, I have this to say: the editor of that magazine forgets that she writes for a predominantly non-Labour readership and so should refrain from filling her pages with Labour heroes or those picked from the PN stables purely because she perceives them as being troublesome to their party. People like reading about things and people they can relate to, and she is not producing a magazine for It-Torca. As for the poolside photographs, I don’t think it is at all progressive or even sensible for Marlene Mizzi, who heads Labour’s business forum and must network with captains of industry and the big players, to portray herself in that tacky manner at her age. It’s a bit of fun when you’re in your 20s, but then it just becomes demeaning. What would we think if a businessman (I use the word in its widest possible sense) were to organise a publicity article in a magazine in which he featured in leopardskin trunks posing ‘sexily’ by his swimming-pool? We’d think he’s a total idiot going through some kind of midlife or marital crisis and that his business is in trouble, that’s what we’d think. And we’d be right.
In fact, as I recall, the last ‘businessman’ to do precisely this kind of thing was Frankie Grima. Enough said. I am trying to get a grip on the Labour Party’s completely non-progressive obsession with the way women look rather than what they actually do. It’s as though women in the Labour Party feel forced to prettify themselves and make like kittens and be ultra-harmless-feminine lest they be thought threatening and dispensed with as being ‘like men’. It’s all very working-class. I can’t relate to it at all. Something else: Marlene was really very silly to have her photographs so heavily photoshopped. It’s not as though people don’t see her in real life, complete with bingo-wings and the thick-set figure and face of advanced middle age. Also, I think it is absolutely grotesque when mothers try to compete with their daughters in the appearance stakes. Leave your daughters be, for god’s sake, let them shine without trying to elbow your way in on their act – it’s their time, not yours. Yours has gone, just face it. For everything there is a season, but some people just can’t accept that.]
I fully agree on this one, my thoughts exactly. In some Facebook pics the daughters look so miserable and the mothers so fakely sprite that it’s hard to tell who’s who!
Xi tghid fuq l irregolaritajiet fuq il Power Station li kixef Joseph Muscat u gew ikkonfermati mil awditur generali Daphne hi? Jew int mohhok biss fil kuruna ta Michelle ta Joseph u t tewmin tahom.
[Daphne – Jiena ma nemminx dawk tal-Labour. Mhux biss injoranti li ma jifmuhx fil-flus (hlief kif idahhluhom fil-but taghhom personali) imma jghaffgu l-verita ghall-iskopijiet taghhom. L-uniku haga li hu kapaci jikxef Joseph Muscat huwa sormu, li diga ghamila diversi drabi. Il-problema hi li ghal hafna Laburisti, il-politika taghhom hija bhal speci ta’ religjon. Jemmnu kollox li hu gej minghand il-Great Leader.]
Joe Agius, jekk trid tkun taf fuq irregolaritajiet staqsi lil shabek, kif per ezempju lahaq leader Alfred Sant mhux Lino Sriteri, kif lahaq leader Joseph Muscat u mhux George Abela, kif tat-telfa wehel Michael Falzon u mhux Jason Micallef, kif tiggverna il-minoranza, kif prim ministru ma jistax jattendi tieg, kif green area tinbena fuq ordni ta’ Lorry, kif ghax giet kontrik tissuspendi il-qrati, kif taqbez ghal magistrata li marret kontra il-kodici tal-etika. Kif ma tisthux?
“Their latest trade mission to Dubai, in which a Labour delegation composed of MPs Charles Buhagiar and Charles Mangion had a ‘chance encounter’ with the Smart City magnates, was also accompanied by entrepreneurs Denis Baldacchino, Ray Vella, Patrick Dalli, and Carmelo Penza. Ray Vella had a hand in building Labour’s new headquarters in Hamrun and together with Denis Baldacchino, is a shareholder in Medina Construction Services and El-Ikhlas, whose directors include Charles Buhagiar MP. Patrick Dalli and Carmelo Penza, along with Baldacchino, had also formed Unita Group Holdings, a now defunct company which grouped their individual construction. And Dalli, the husband of Labour MP Helena Dalli, is also tied to Charles Mangion in the company Elcar Developments.”
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2006/10/29/interview.html
GONZI FUMBLES POPE’S VISIT
Gonzi dropped the ball again by not even predicting the dire necessity, let alone installing a playpen for little kiddies during the official welcome of the Pope at the President’s Palace. No wonder poor Joseph and Michelle had to struggle holding their twins and unable to greet him properly like everyone else did. A more ideal solution would be a permanent day care facility in case some MPs’ virility and their spouses fertility come together and produce children at inconvenient times of State visits.
The President didn’t fare much better though. How dare he address the Pope telling him that Malta still embraces values established some two thousand years ago! This is 2010, after all, George.
At least Gonzi kept a lower profile which I cannot understand why. Maybe if Joseph becomes Prime Minister, then Lawrence could learn a thing or two from him. Being in Opposition, Gonzi can then lay wreaths before the President and Joseph do their thing, arrive late without explaining or giving an apology and avoid State dinners like the plague and find a dive in Marsascala and chew on a hamburger and chips.
And just to balance things out, one cannot but deplore Bishop Cremona’s nerve of waving back to the crowds whilst riding in the pope-mobile. Just too much.
The Pope too, after all, should be criticized for stirring the pot by meeting the alleged victims of abuse by priests. Most untimely since the justice system in Malta found it necessary to delay trials leaving the matter pending for seven long years. The Pope acted in haste and with disrespect to out judicial system.
And last, but not least, all the thousands of young and old who, for one whole day stuck around and relied on hot dogs to sustain them during the day and portable toilets, trees and walls to relieve themselves when nature called.
All in all a very disappointing visit since most felt so much inconvenience in breaking the comfortable ‘status quo’ even if for twenty seven hours.
And so Ms. Muscat wanted her set of beads to be touched by the Pope. What’s wrong with that.. These things are very common to His Holiness. Give some comments on Ms. Gonzi for a change please.
[Daphne – Why, is she in the news? I hadn’t noticed.]
Ghal-bilanc, bilanc, Daph. La semmejt li Michelle, trid issemmi li Kate.
Ma tafx li Carmel Laburist u allura wiehed mill-imdallmin. Insejt kif tal-lejber kienu joqoghdu mkahhlin bi stopwatch ghal sieghat shah mal-radju w it-television, dan biex immorru jigru jirrapurtaw lil Awtorita tax-Xandir li il PN hallewhom jitkellmu 2 sekondi iz-zjed mil-lejber – u, allura, ma kienx qed jinzamm il-bilanc fix-xandir.
Ghadhom ilkoll l-istess, hafna hsejjes fil-pubbliku, izda sustanza ta’xejn.
“Ghadhom ilkoll l-istess, hafna hsejjes fil-pubbliku, izda sustanza ta’xejn.”
Imma hdura dejjem, u kullimkien.
Carmel – re your question – Kate Gonzi is perfect in her role. She was dressed appropraitely for the occasion and, as always, perfectly groomed. She also has the looks and manners to match – a true lady.
I, for one, feel pround when she presents herself at official functions.
When it comes to Mrs. Muscat, it’s a totally different kettle of fish.
Meta Kate Gonzi tidhaq jew titbissem, tidher li tkun qeghda taghmilha genwinament.
Meta m’ghandiex aptit tidhaq jew titbissem, tibqa naturali minghajr ma’ tidher antipatika.
I would so love to be Mrs Gonzi’s next BFF – she is really perfect in her role! And maybe Mrs Muscat could serve us tea and biscuits – I think she would fit the role perfectly!
Carmel, on the news everyone is talking about the volcano in Iceland, not the one in Sicily, which is well-behaved.
Matt 23:5 “But all their works they do to be seen by men.”
Amen!
This site was not in existence when EFA was caught taking a ‘mobile’ photo of the Pope during the procedings of a high level multi-lateral gathering.
MLP media made a meal out of it, not much seeing it as an appropriate gesture for a head of State or whatever was he at the time.
Storms in a teacup.
[Daphne – Oh, so he had a mobile phone which could take photographs pre-2003. Interesting.]
Hate to say this however, the first cell/camera phones took the US/European markets by storm in late 2001.
[Daphne – Ah, but not in Malta.]
“L-uniku haga li hu kapaci jikxef Joseph Muscat huwa sormu,”
(tat TWO NEWS Likes this, kif jghidu fil-Facebook.)
Mela dak hu ir-ritratt li qed jinghata prominenza bhal-issa fit TYOM. Ma nafx kif jien ma ndunajtx mill-ewwel u hadhtu mix-xebh.
What really annoys me is when people use the Catholic reiigion to try and please others. Bil-Malti nghidu ” biex jilaghqu”. There is no point in flaunting the rosary beads and then together with your husband, you support the introduction of divorce, something that the church is against.
Either you are with the church or not. Another champion in this regard is Marlene Pullicino, who despite living in an adulterous relationship, claims that she loves the Madonna, goes to Lourdes and is against divorce (this is the sickest bit).
The Catholic Church is not a supermarket, where you take what you like and need and leave the rest on the shelves. There are rules to be observed and if one doesn’t like them or agree with them, then one should seek new pastures. But one cannot have the cake and eat it.
Although occasionally I don’t agree with Daphne, I like her honesty when speaking about the Catholic Church. At least she admits that she is no longer a Catholic and doesn’t try to be a hypocrite. For this reason I respect her views and read this blog.
Otherwise I would just feel disgusted as I do whenever I hear about adulterous magistrates parading behind holy statues and inconsistent “Catholics” marrying in the church.
Its also interesting to note that PBS, your national TV station, showed Joseph Muscat with Michelle and the children but didn’t show Gonzi’s son and grandchild. Surely they were not attempting to show up Mr Muscat whilst hiding Gonzi Junior?
James A. Tyrrell
N. Ireland
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=104837
If this James Tyrrell has a Maltese passport, lives in Gozo, insists on signing off as he does, with an emphasis on N.Ireland, why should he be so interested in what Daphne writes and says on her blog?
Furthermore, why should he give a hoot as to how Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, the Prime Minister of Malta, will react regarding this journalist?
What does he expect? Does he not know that the Prime Minister in a democracy cannot interfere with the freedom of the press? How do they do it in N. Ireland, Mr. Tyrell ?
Surely, there must be more interesting things to do in Gozo. How about walling yourself in a cave with a goat or two?
Mela rega fegg dan il-know-all johnny-come-lately minn N Ireland?
“There I was at a loose end in the early hours of Sunday morning when I decided to do something drastic. No I didn’t contemplate suicide, I decided to pay a visit to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s blog, ”
That’s the opening paragraph of James Tyrrell’s letter to the Malta Independent.
So, the first thing James Tyrrell does in the morning is visit this site. The second thing he does is write a letter to the Malta Independent about something he read here that he doesn’t consider newsworthy.
The man’s obsessed.
Daphne is doing a service to us all, and the PL’s attitude towards her comes from envy and fear. Admittedly, Daphne’s language is a bit forceful – but then, that’s what makes her blog so attractive: clarity plus forcefulness.
“why should he [Tyrrell] be so interested in what Daphne writes and says on her blog?”
Ghaliex hiereg mal-PL ghal-Ghawdex, mhux ovvja? Tyrrell jirkeb fuq kull blog li jsib basta jidher ismu, imma id-DCG Notebook fl-istess hin jibza minnha ghax tikxiflu il-qrun.
Why were the Catholic nuns, sisters and lay-workers given the ‘cold shoulder’ during the Pontiff’s visit? I mean there was no Mother Superior/or Minister present at any given time when the Pope met with members of the Maltese clergy. Just Bishops.
Nuns, sisters and lay-workers are the unsung heroes/heroines of the Roman Catholic Church. God Bless them.
… and here’s one that seems to have been missed
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/7604620/Pope-falls-asleep-during-mass.html
What can we expect from an aging, and tired octogenarian? The poor man hardly slept at all during those 27 hours.
Don’t overlook the fact that he’s 83. His schedule would have been gruelling for a man half his age, let alone for someone of 83.
Then again, maybe he was bored to death by the endless rounds of speeches, often delivered in very poor diction.
I don’t think anyone missed that Alan. You can watch the clip here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26852192/vp/36642930#36642930
In this clip one can also see a former President of the United States dozing off, and he is much, much younger then the 83 year old Pope (all smiles). When one reaches an octagerian age and God Bless them, one tends to doze off more frequently. Needless to say that a 27 hour ‘tour’ can throw a spanner to the works of one’s internal body mechanism.
What a nice dress Lady Muscat is wearing. When I was little, we called them party dresses.