[Daphne – It’s not acceptable. It’s accepted – by some people, and not by all. Plus, there is a difference between people using ‘Union jack’ out of choice and people using it because they don’t know what it means, or because they actually think it’s what the flag is called. A jack is just a type of flag used for a particular purpose. There is an Italian jack, a Maltese jack, a Greek jack, etc – people might actually find this bit of information interesting.]

This one seems to be still up for debate. It seems that while technically you are right Daphne, Union Jack is also a perfectly acceptable name for the flag.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Flag

[Daphne – I’m sorry, but I don’t celebrate linguistic inaccuracy. A jack is one thing, and a flag is another. People confuse the Union jack with the Union flag because they are visually identical, the difference being in size and purpose. You would not, however, be able to refer to the Maltese flag as the Maltese jack, because the Maltese jack is complete different. This is the Maltese jack: http://www.chetcuticauchi.com/jpc/images/photos/flagship.jpg ]

Where are our ‘journalists’ and also our politicians? Nobody stands up to the occasion. Is Peppi in Benghazi? Charlon may be caught up in Marsa. John Bundy held in divorce discussion. Kif tista tlahhaq ma kollox! Kieku xtaqt,

Our president has no say in all this? Or because ‘priority’ rules that he honours his commitment in Australia?

so why is there a ‘UNION JACK’ flag over MALTA?

[Daphne – I’ll patiently repeat: Union flag not Union jack. A jack is that little flag that ships and yachts fly from the prow. The Maltese jack is red and white and shows the Maltese cross.]

Leave it to Sky News to hurriedly find a fifty year old map of the British Empire showing Malta all but British, so they stuck a Union Jack on the Maltese islands. I bet until recently their journalists didn’t even know Malta existed, where it is located and cared even less.

Leave it to journalists to screw things up. So far it does not seem that the PM has received any requests to use Malta as a base for British or other forces.

If such a request is received, the burden lies on the PM either to grant permission or outrightly reject it. The Opposition continues to sit on the fence and as usual they will come up with their brand of advice when the crucial decisions are already taken. Hindsight is 20-20.

The PM knows that the majority will be with im if he decides to go along with such a request.

A grocer on Elephant Island in Southern Egypt said the same thing about Mintoff – and that was only a couple of years ago.

Good, Libyans are being saved from salty, unsavoury, unhealthy food.

Tongue-in-cheek aside, when I was living in England in the early nineties I was quite surprise and very annoyed at the number of well-educated people whose first reaction when I mentioned that I was from Malta was “Oh, you’ve got that Mintoff for prime minister don’t you?”.