Note to news editors: Joseph Cuschieri is NOT an MEP
Joseph Cuschieri charges at the Nationalist Party and government - Maltastar
I can understand why maltatoday.com.mt, which illustrated a story about the Church of England with rosary beads entwined round hands clasped in prayer, would describe Joseph Cuschieri repeatedly as an MEP.
And I expect nothing better of the Labour Party’s news site, maltastar.com, which tells us, in a similarly headlined report, that:
Malta’s 6th MEP Joseph Cuschieri charges at the Nationalist Party for criticising him after calling on the Maltese government to make pressure on the Greek government to ratify the EU treaty so that Malta can obtain its extra seat in the European Parliament.
With what did he charge at them, I wonder? A battering-ram? A pair of borrowed horns or antlers? A rhino tusk?
But I really can’t understand why more reputable news organisations are making the same mistake.
Joseph Cuschieri is NOT a member of the European Parliament. That is exactly the point. That is why he continues to whine and why he remains a festering sore on the Labour Party’s conscience.
He will become a member of the European Parliament if Malta gets another seat. You are a member of parliament, any parliament, only if you have a seat in the house.
Again, that is exactly the point. That is why Joseph Cuschieri is no longer a member of the Maltese parliament – because he gave up his seat to somebody who needed one.
Joseph Muscat was not ‘the Leader of the Opposition who is waiting for his seat’. Joseph Cuschieri is not ‘a member of the Maltese parliament who doesn’t have a seat anymore’.
Equally, Joseph Cuschieri is NOT ‘an MEP who is still waiting for his seat’. There can be no such thing.
The people at Malta Today might be thick enough, linguistically inept enough, to say things like ‘Joseph Cuschieri, Malta’s sixth MEP’, but others only embarrass themselves by doing so.
You are not a member of parliament unless you have a seat. Joseph Cuschieri does not have a seat, therefore he is not a member of parliament, either in Malta or in Brussels/Strasbourg.
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Apparently Mr. Cuschieri thinks that the job of an MEP is to press a Yes, No or Abstain button at random, like some of his fellow Labour MEPs used to do.
I read this comment on Times and tend to agree with Peppi X
Without going into the merits of Cuschieri’s call for Malta to insist on the approval of the sixth seat in EU Parlaiment, one cannot but agree with Cuschieri that the issue of the sixth seat is not a personal matter, but something that is in the national interest. After all our Governmen sang victory when it managed to get a sixth seat in the EU Parlaiement, but it seems to have lost interest when this sixth seat was not won by the PN.
peppi x
The issue of whether the sixth seat is more important than making sure the Eurozone collapses is not a personal matter but something that is in the national interest.
Joseph Cuschieri thinks otherwise. Apparently, so do Peppi x and A Grech.
I am Malta’s 7th MEP.
I suggest you negotiate your pay packet in US Dollars, in case the Euro collapses as a consequence of the threats to Greece issued by Malta’s 6th MEP.
In the 50s in Malta there was the following popular rhyme:
Tar-rizzi waqa’ l-bahar
Ta’ l-imhar qabez ghalih
Tar-rizzi tela’ jigri
U ta’ l-imhar baqa fil-qiegh.
Suits him.
Can I be the 8th?
Actually, who numbered these MEPs? I mean look at the Head of the European Central Bank. There was one position, but two candidates – Duisenberg and Trichet. So it had been informally decided to split the 8 year-term between them, so that each would lead for 4 years. Can’t the Labour MEPs do the same?
But better still, since John Attard Montalto is always travelling to some unheard of part of the world, he surely is not using his seat in Brussels. Can’t he let Joseph Cuschieri sit on it while he lies back comfortably in one of those versatile seats in the first class suite aboard an Airbus A380 bound to the most remote part of the earth?
“Actually, who numbered these MEPs?”
The electorate (I almost said “the people”. then I remembered that’s considered a nasty word here)
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Rejoice! We have one cabbage less in the Maltese parliament, with the likes of JPO, Mugliett and JP Farrugia blackmailing the PM as they please, this cabbage would have been a blessing in disguise to ease the tensions caused by bad losers and prima donna wannabes.
“You are not a member of parliament unless you have a seat”.
Neither are you a professor unless you have a chair.
I’ve had it with maltastar. com referring to Anthony Zammit the surgeon as a professor. He doesn’t have a chair – other than the one at home, that is, that he tends to get entangled in.
[Daphne – I can’t help thinking that comes from the way certain people refer to surgeons and consultants as ‘il-professur’. First they speak to the tabib, then the tabib refers them to the professur.]
It is indeed possible to have the academic title of professor/associate professor without necessarily being in possession of a department’s “chair”.
Daphne’s remark with respect to a medical “consultant” being referred to as “professur” seems to be a Maltese pecularity.
Recently, the Medical Council of Malta issued a circular in which it states that only full professorship and associate professorship holders are entitled to be called professors. There are many Maltese who are visiting professors in foreign universities and these are not entitled to use the word professor before their name.
Customs, rules and medical councils may differ in respective countries.
Malta, a sovereign state, is free to opt for whatever it wishes.
He’s only been waiting a couple of years anyway. Look at poor Prince Charles, pushing 63 and still can’t get his seat.
Joseph Cuschieri huwa wiehed mis-suldati ta’ l-azzar tal Partit Laburista. Ceda postu biex il-Partit taghna ikollu mexxej progressiv u liberali.
Ir-rizultati qed narawhom u mmisuhom b’idejna bis-sahha tal-mexxej taghna u l-grupp qaqocca li ghandu mieghu.
Il-partit jibqa’ jafulu lil Joseph tas-sagrificcju li qieghed jaghmel. La nitilghu fil-gvern insibulu post fejn jixraqlu fl-Unjoni Ewropeja.
Wow .
Hi,
DCG referred to your bosom buddy as ‘kabocca’ and you yourself refer to your partit as ‘qaqocca’. Individually or simultaneously they still make a hell of a ‘kawlata’. Quo vadis Suldat ta’ l-azzar?
Ghaziz George, nahseb il-kabocca int ghax ma tafx kawlata x’jghidulha bl-Ingliz!!!
Lil hu Emanuel Cuschieri ahna xorta qed inwieznuh mil-flus li nigbru minghand il-HAFNA.
Nies bhalkom tikkritikaw lil-Joseph ghax naqra fartas , imma tibzghu taqblu per ezempju ma policy li qal Evarist Bartolo favur li l-iskejjel Maltin jibqghu miftuhin ghal-aktar sieghat.
Issa wiehed minn tal-qaqocca tefaghlkom il-ballun f’saqajkom , x’se taghmlu?Forsi taghmlu kawlata OHRA bhal tad-divorzju?
Pathetic quibbling – born of sour grapes.
[Daphne – No, Chavs, it’s not quibbling at all. It’s cast-iron FACT. Joseph Cuschieri is not an MEP. He is not on the list of MEPs and he does not have a seat. The European Parliament does not ‘know’ him. Please don’t tempt me to say something about your level of intelligence.
The Maltese electorate elected Cuschieri to occupy the sixth seat that Malta was promised.
[Daphne – The Maltese did no such thing. Cuschieri is the next in line, that’s all. Should we be promised a seventh seat, there is somebody in line for that, too – and an eighth seat, and a ninth, and so on.]
If we had a government that had anything even remotely resembling a pair of balls, they would have seen to it that we got it long ago.
[Daphne – They might have, if the candidate was worth fighting for. But to be frank, if Joseph Muscat had any common decency, he would have found Cuschieri a job and a salary at the Labour Party, instead of finding one for Marisa Micallef while Cuschieri was left to the vagaries of (mis)fortune. Some gentleman, that Muscat: first he sweet-talks Cuschieri into giving him his seat, then he makes it more than clear that he’s so dumb he doesn’t want him on the party payroll. Suppose he wasn’t in line for the sixth seat? What then?]
Yet more quibbling.
When we were voting we KNEW that the sixth person would take the sixth seat when the amendment was ratified. And we were given the impression that is was a matter of months, if not weeks. Love him or hate him (and, whatever you may think, I tend to hate him more than love him) he is as much of a Maltese MEP as Simon Busuttil or Edward Scicluna.
[Daphne – Madonna, you really do have to have a special sort of brain to vote Labour. Incredible.]
It is clearly in Malta’s interest to have six seats instead of five. The fact that the Gov is not doing anything about it cos the person concerned was elected on behalf of the LP is just another indication that for the PN, the party comes before the country.
[Daphne – Think straight. Yes, it is in Malta’s interest to have six seats. But it does not follow that Joseph Cuschieri is an MEP. He clearly is not. Nor does it follow that the government is not doing anything about it. You are not in a position to know that.]
I’ll take the first sentence as a compliment.
If the government can’t be bothered (or thinks it is not obliged) to keep me informed about what it is doing in my name, then I have a right to draw my own conclusions.
Are you sure it’s in Malta’s interest to have six MEPs? I’d rather have one good MEP than six muppets.
ChavsRus ghandu ragun biex ibiegh!
chavsRus. You are special, because…
http://pawsru.org/pawsX/f/src/130808476989.jpg
Every cloud has a silver lining and not having Cuschieri in Brussels is one.
The debt trap long set, the edifice now fast crumbling, the solution found in perpetual enslavement to central banks and their owners, and the Melitensin discuss is-sitt siggu.
In your case, kev, it’s might really be a case of sour grapes. But wait, I forgot, you’re above all this.
Actually, Kev’s is not sour grapes. He is actually lucky that it was not Sharon fighting for that 6th seat, and he is probably enjoying the situation as a distant spectator as much as I am.
Can you imagine Kev joining in the battle for his wife’s 6th seat? By now he would be accusing Greeceand Malta of all sorts of conspiracies.
That’s precisely the criticism levelled at Joseph Cuschieri, hence the reaction you misread.
Ara daqsxejn x’livell ta’ medjokrita ninsabu fiha. Qas biss intebhu dwar x’hiex qed nitkellem. Jitkellmu biss dwar il-persuna – s’hemm jaslu l-iskjavi u s-serfi.
How can you blame us when it is so evident that you are off your rocker!
I really pity Cuschieri! No other word!
Hi red nose,
Oh yes there is. How about ‘just desserts’ or ‘how lucky can we get?’
The commentators on MaltaToday fail to see any news value in this. It is just gossip.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/%E2%80%98smokin%E2%80%99-joe%E2%80%99s-no-show-with-snoop-dogg
Karl Stagno Navarro’s efforts in putting the piece together have gone up in smoke.
[Daphne – Well, largely because he was faced with the problem of not being allowed to credit me with the story, hence only being able to run the half of it.]
Actually, KSN makes some strange “claims” here:
“Sammut, 54, had claimed in an article he wrote in 2008, that a ‘close friendship’ had developed between himself and Snoop Dogg in the exclusive resort of Porto Cervo in Sardinia, where a lavish party was thrown and paid for by the Gaddafi brothers.
He claimed that the familiar rapport between the two led Snoop Dogg to nickname him ‘Smokin’ Joe’ after they shared Gaddafi’s private jet from Fiumicino to Olbia and were ‘room neighbours’ for two days at a Porto Cervo Hotel.”
In his claims, Smokin Joe never referred to Gaddafi, as implied by KSN. It was this blog that made those claims.
I am sure Cuschieri KNOWS that he is not fit to take a seat at the EU Parliament – but then he can copy Attard Montalto and go on “trips”.
Or he can apply for a job as a driver with ARRIVA , if he has any qualifications, that is.
Mr Cuschieri may not officially and as state of fact be an MEP yet as he has no seat. However according to the Lisbon treaty now in effect Malta has a right to six seats in the EP. So, at least legally speaking, Mr Cuschieri is Malta’s sixth MEP, and therefore can be considered as an MEP.
[Daphne – What absolutely pitiful reasoning. A member of parliament without a seat? Malta has a right to six seats, ergo Cuschieri is an MEP? Tal-biki.]
Th real “tal-biki” is you twisting and turning to try and deny the obvious – that the Maltese electorate knowingly elected Cuschieri to occupy Malta’s sixth seat in the EU Parliament.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20071012/local/european-parliament-approves-maltas-sixth-seat.2346
[Daphne – Oh really? And how did the Maltese electorate know when it voted that Cuschieri would be the sixth? Grit your teeth and accept this, chavs: Joseph Cuschieri is not elected because there is as yet no sixth seat for him (or anyone else) to be elected to. Joseph Cuschieri is not an MEP. If you don’t believe me, check the EP list. Then check whether he receives an MEP’s salary. That’s right, he doesn’t. Let me just spell it out for you because, honestly, you’re doing yourself no favours here: if something does not exist then you cannot claim it or say you have it. Big philosophical problem there, for Labour voters – no offence meant, and none taken I trust.]
Utter rubbish.
No, the electorate did not know that Cuschieri would be the sixth – just as they did not know that Busuttil would be first, Scicluna second etc (if I remember correctly).
[Daphne – Stop banging your head against that brick wall, because it makes thinking even more difficult. The electorate voted for five MEPs and not six. When we went to the polls, only five seats were available. That’s what counts. Any more of this skewed thinking and you’ll be telling me that Partnerxipp won the referendum and that people did not vote in favour of divorce legislation when you count the electorate as a whole. Pathetic.]
Our system being what it is, each and every one of us went and voted, in descending order, for our preferred candidates. Cuschieri got enough 1s, 2s, 3s etc to put him, in aggregate, in sixth place. And (listen carefully, I will only say this as many times as it takes) when we ALREADY knew that the Lisbon Treaty had already given Malta another seat and it was only pending ratification – which we were given to understand was a mere formality which would take a few months if not weeks.
[Daphne – You don’t have to speak to me slowly because I don’t vote Labour and never have done. What counts is what is there when you vote. Whether a sixth seat is pending or not is completely irrelevant if, at the time of voting, there are only five. It’s the difference between a bird in the hand and a bird in the bush. Or put more simply, you are not going to get any bank to lend you money using as collateral a house you will buy in six months’ time when your promised inheritance comes through. The definition of an MEP: somebody with a seat in the European Parliament NOT somebody who has been promised a seat in the European Parliament. Now go and barbecue some corned beef or something.]
It is well to underline that Cuschieri’s personal capabilities or lack of them are irrelevant. What is relevant is that Malta is being cheated of its rights and our Gov is doing sweet FA about it.
On a personal note, I would back pedal on the personal qualities if I were you. Nobody who supports a party that includes somebody like Edwin Vassallo is in a position to criticise.
[Daphne – I have never voted for Edwin Vassallo and do not intend to do so. Edwin Vassallo stands out in the Nationalist Party because he belongs with Labour. If he were in the Labour Party, he would not stand out.]
I think enough has been said on this point for everyone to make up his or her own mind. I’m happy to leave it up to them.
I think it’s pretty obvious who is right and who is risking a twisted spine to prove an unproveable point.
Ħalli rasek fejn issibha.
[Daphne – As has become the norm nowadays among the partially educated, you confuse fact with opinion and believe facts are a matter of opinion. If a table is blue, it is irrelevant that you think it is green. It remains blue. Joseph Cuschieri is not an MEP. That you think he is one is irrelevant and does not change that fact. ]
PS: Actually, you are wrong. Banks WILL lend on prospects of inheritance.
[Daphne – Oh yes, right. And how. A bird in the bush used as collateral. Maybe you’re thinking of Dennis Sammut’s days.]
“Malta has a right to six seats, ergo Cuschieri is an MEP?”
Yes, exactly.
[Daphne – All together now: “NO WONDER YOU VOTE LABOUR.”]
You went full retard. Never go full retard man, not cool.
No he can’t, David. By the same reasoning, each and every one of us IS the sixth MEP therefore.
So does Joseph Cuschieri drive a car with the number plate MEP 006?
No. It is BIDILLU 1.
Here again Magic Kiosk comes TRULY to mind.
Daphne, I am a keen follower of your well written blogs.
I wonder if you are going to back-track on what you stated about the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case.
You seemed quite convinced that he is guilty, now it looks that the rape ‘victim’ is a liar.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/dominique-strauss-kahn/8614282/Dominique-Strauss-Kahn-accuser-could-face-perjury-charges.html
[Daphne – No, in fact I was gearing up to write something very different: that it isn’t any wonder women don’t report rapes, because when they do, they are the ones put on trial. Rape in these situations is always a case of her word against his, so the defence does its level best to destroy the accuser’s credibility. And that makes it a very, very brave woman who reports a rape because what comes afterwards is so much worse than what went before. Let’s try to follow this line of reasoning, shall we? ‘She mistated her income, ergo she lied about being raped.’ It doesn’t follow. The fact remains that DSK’s semen was found on her uniform. Another fact some men might wish to take on board: women don’t give blow-jobs to strangers unless that is their line of work or they are drunken slags on a night out. Meanwhile, I trust you have read this: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110704/world/strauss-kahn-faces-new-legal-challenge.373888%5D
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/04/dominique-strauss-kahn-tristane-banon-lawsuit
It seems that DSK is quite a ladies’ man, to put it mildly.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15118786,00.html
Crime | 31.05.2011
Weatherman acquitted of rape in ‘trial of the year’
From timesofmalta.com :
Monday, July 4, 2011, 11:53
Air Malta declares dispute with Air Malta over jobs guarantee
Infighting ?
Going by that reasoning, the newspapers could call him ‘the late Joseph Cuschieri’ because one day he is going to die for sure.
Does that mean that Joseph Muscat is a dead man walking? He has a habit of being late.
Actually I feel sorry for him. He drew the short straw and was manipulated.
“make pressure”: jaghmel pressjoni