I can’t speak for anyone, of course, but I very much doubt that Daphne ever had the intention of “tiftaħ l-imħuħ” of the Censu Filgollis of this world.

For a guy who can’t even spell the word figolli, I expect that basic arithmetic would be an uphill struggle.

And you can bank on Labour’s taking advantage of that ignorance to perpetuate its false claims and get the Censu Filgollis to parrot them.

A fundamental tenet of Socialism (the ideology of the Labour Party of Malta and Socialist parties in Europe) is that the nation’s wealth should be distributed more equitably.

If the current unjust distribution of wealth is what makes the Laburisti carry a chip on their shoulder, then so be it.

[Daphne – How is the current distribution of wealth unjust, Randon? Those who work earn a living. Those who don’t work earn a living off the backs of those who do, and much of everything else for free. So yes, perhaps it is unjust. But I don’t think that’s what you meant.]

Perhaps they have good reason to carry a chip on their shoulder when faced with prejudice and glass ceilings that limit their opportunities. After all, they were not born in the ‘right’ sort of family bearing surnames like DeMarco, Gonzi and Mifsud Bonnici. And you say that voting Labour is only a matter of choice and not birth?

[Daphne – The families you mentioned tend to operate in politics and law, not the private sector. So what’s your beef, exactly? Or are you simply parroting Franco Debono?]

By the way, the Jews were the foremost ideologists of Socialism (Karl Marx was Jewish too). Guess why this is so? Because European Jews have been discriminated and vilified for a long time. They carried quite a chip on their shoulder those Jewish socialists simmering with resentment in dark corners.

[Daphne – Utter bollocks. The Jews were Europe’s original capitalists, financiers and bankers, hence the spite they engendered.]

So I suppose they really deserved what they got in the Final Solution, didn’t they?

[Daphne – I hadn’t realised you are a Nazi, and I can’t see how you can claim that anybody deserved that fate.]

From Maltatoday’s report on the prime minister’s Dissett interview.

The prime minister, of course, said the exact opposite.

[Daphne – I missed that. Thank you.]

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120604/local/debono-will-continue-to-be-member-of-pn-group-whip.422612

Censu Filgolli

Today, 10:23

Could someone answer this honest question: if now CMB resigned, how can Gonzi ask for clear vote if it seems the speaker’s casting vote will be put to practice again? (counting on FD’s ok vote)

Labour people are ‘Unattractive personalities…extremely difficult to incorporate into certain sorts of workplaces… simmering resentfully in the corner’….just like what people in Central Europe were made to think about Jews some 70 years ago.

[Daphne – Of course not. Being Jewish, black or a woman is not a matter of choice. Voting Labour, by definition, is. One’s choices are an expression of one’s personality and level of intelligence.]

No wonder they were sent off to concentration camps in their millions. They deserved it didn’t they? Such unattractive people, especially when you compare them to our local attractive personalites like Austin Gatt and George Pullicino.

[Daphne – Try to follow my argument properly, Randon. What I wrote there is that people tend to choose Labour because of the chips and resentments they carry already, and it is those chips and resentments which make them unattractive. Yes, this is a fact: people with a can-do, positive attitude and no envy or lanzit or iss hej ara dak kemm irnexxa outlook tend not to be Labour. I find it very easy to work out how people vote, merely on the basis of their attitude and outlook and even before they mention politics.]

Have you considered migrating to planet Prejudice? You will find so many personalities who would be attractive to your eyes. You might even bump into Dr Goebbels.

[Daphne – This might come as a surprise to you, but I find it really frustrating that not one Labour supporter capable of rational or logical argument comes in here to lock horns with me. It’s always the yah-yah, nini nini, irrational sort who use non sequiturs and childish accusations. Are Labour supporters born? No, they are self-made. So how can you compare a choice made in adulthood (the decision to vote Labour) with a fact of birth (Jewishness), or even be so insulting to the memory of those millions who suffered and died by comparing their ordeal with that of a Labour voter who reads what I think about his decision to vote Labour?]

They don’t need to burn houses down to stop one from expressing views publicly. You are not that naive and don’t pretend to be so.

[Daphne – That’s true, because others tried it and it didn’t work. So go on, tell me, what else could ‘they’ do? I’m not naive, no, but you certainly seem to be.]

The PN goverment has developed refined ways of censoring public-spirited persons who believe they should go public with their views because they can’t stand the rot around them.

The tactics used by government include hinderance to job promotion (especially in state orgaisations), stunting of one’s private career, unofficial boycott to government tenders and so many other creative ways of making one’s future look dismal to government critics.

[Daphne – I despair. Aren’t we talking about journalists expressing opinions against the government here, or has the subject suddenly changed? Job promotion in state organisations: the ghastly editor of the Labour Party’s official newspaper, KullHadd, is one of the most senior executives at Malta Enterprise. Louis Grech and Marlene Mizzi both HEADED state corporations for years under at least two Nationalist governments. I can think of several others, but don’t wish to intrude on their privacy. As for those who are in the civil service, they are barred from expressing any sort of opinion publicly by virtue of the Estacode, which is practically as old as the civil service itself. As for government tenders, if journalists are applying for those, then that’s a problem in itself. So go on, how can any government, Labour or Nationalist, stop me expressing my opinion in this blog?]

Meanwhile, others who remain reticent (omerta’ type) on all matters seem to have all the luck in the world, even though their badge is mediocrity.

People know what I am talking about and that is why so many who believe in fundamental rights are walking away from the PN.

If you have not figured this out, then you are the one living on another planet.

[Daphne – No, I am not on another planet. I’ve just been around for a fairly long time, and one of the things I’ve noticed is that when people blame their political opinions for not getting ahead, they’re generally looking for some excuse so as not to have to face the fact that they have unattractive personalities, don’t get along with people, and are not as bright or talented as they think. Well, face it, if you choose Labour and its policies (no to EU, etc) that already says a lot about your gifts to a prospective employer. Labour people tend to be extremely difficult to incorporate into certain sorts of workplaces because they come with too many chips and resentments. In other workplaces, they’re fine. But the way I’ve figured it out so far, the one simmering resentfully in the corner is usually Labour, and the prejudices came first.]

I appreciate your sentiment, and from my dual nationality perspective, I would recommend “The Daily Show”: http://www.thedailyshow.com/

HOWEVER, media and journalism have no power to keep the “egos” of any politician under control.

Media and journalism have the appropriate function to represent the truth and to assist critical thought.

Sometime media is used to intentionally distort or misrepresent the truth, according to its particular political agenda. The PL have such a general policy of denial, fabrication, and slander. And falsehoods are readily appreciated in various Maltese media.

The media portfolio was taken under Alfred Sant’s wing, with his particular goals of political narration, as soon as he became PM. The PL currently invents and spins, and my stomach turns at the tunes of Joseph Muscat, Evarist Bartolo, Leo Brincat, and other PL accolades.

Franco Debono may be simply “nuts.” The media never controlled the likes of Hitler, or Facists – rather, it was the other way around: they controlled the media.

There are only two ways for the “egos” of politicians to be controlled: (1) by themselves, by their “self” control, which is in the rational capacity of the “ego”. And the second way (2): by voters, who make rational choices after careful and critical consideration of the alternatives.

In practical terms, the media informs; but “voters” control, except under totalitarian regimes.

Berlusconi was never fit to be PM – for the resaon mentioned above and on other media. Neither was George Bush for that matter. They are not mutually exclusive.

If it was to be absolute, then offences such as perjury, calumnious accusation, false statements and others would never have existed.

Can’t really compare a fundamental human right with that kind of right to use a knife. Your freedom is taken away, the moment that same knife is used for illegitimate purposes, so one can’t really do anything he wants with that knife. That kind of right is valid as long as the knife is used for legitimate purposes.

[Daphne – Exactly.]