Jason 2018 is in Brussels, taking the credit for something he never worked on
We have discovered the identity of the man on the far right, though the DOI didn’t bother to tell us: it’s Caldon Mercieca, a culture and theatre consultant
This is just so disgusting, you know. Removing the Valletta 2018 chairman who did all the work from inception, and replacing him with Jason Micallef, just days before Valletta is officially declared European Capital of Culture – so that when the official declaration was made yesterday, it was Jason who was chairman and the man who did the real work, David Felice, is shoved out of the picture – literally so, because he wasn’t even in the official photographs.
Couldn’t they at least have had the good grace, common decency and basic manners to make the switch afterwards? Ma tarax. This was all so unnecessary, and this lack of basic courtesy is what creates so much bad blood and such a lousy impression.
Now Jason 2018 and his friend and PS for Culture, Jose Herrera, are in Brussels with a sizeable and wholly unnecessary delegation to mark the event.
And Jason – because water always finds its own level – was on Facebook at the airport while waiting for the flight there yesterday, telling his dull-witted and subliterate FB friends about it.
And those FB friends are actually giving him the credit, and telling him prosit. What do they imagine, for heaven’s sake? That the EU took the decision to declare Valletta European Capital of Culture 2018 since March 9 – or rather, given their comments, since Jason was made chairman last week?
Reading this kind of thing makes me desperate for Malta. Honestly, what hope is there, with such manifest lack of critical thinking?
One man commenting from Mosta doesn’t even know that ‘Valletta 2018’, because of Malta’s tiny size, incorporates the whole of Malta, and that all local councils have signed in to participate.
And as for the man who commented ‘Viva l-Partit Laburista!’, words fail me completely. How is such gross failure to understand the simplest things even remotely possible? How did he make the connection between Valletta 2018, a project that has been going on for years, and the Labour Party?
A university professor gave an interview to The Times some days ago in which he said that the main failure of Malta’s education system over generations is the suppression of development of critical thinking. This, he said, has serious implications for democracy, which depends on critical thought among the electorate, leading to a democratic deficit in Malta.
He’s right, and I have made the same observation myself for years, except that I am not an academic involved in research into the subject, so my words carry no weight as his do.
The fact that so many people actually think that Valletta was declared European Capital of Culture on the basis of Jason Micallef’s hard work in the last week makes you understand this better, and how bad the situation really is.
And possibly, there we have our answer as to why David Felice was not allowed to shine or even appear in public on the day everything which he and his people had worked for became reality.
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As Churchill put it, the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
Critical thinking isn’t the problem here, in my opinion.
The problem with the people lies in their sheer inability to merely think and reason, full stop. Anyone with half a brain would be able to realise that Jason Micallef had absolutely nothing to do with all of this.
On the other hand, the problem with the Government (and its appointees) is their warped idea of what ‘Malta Taghna Lkoll’ actually means.
Put both together, and you have a lethal combination, proved by the 55% who were conned and voted in this farce of a Government.
The fact is that many Laburisti only listen to their party’s media and probably had no clue as to what was going on to prepare Malta’s bid to be cultural capital.
Even so, they would never appreciate the the hard work that goes into obtaining such a prestigious honour. It is beyond their basic interests and will never appreciate what these matters actually represent.
Like their party, their interest is shallow and superficial and for them this is like being given a star on the copybook for a job well done.
If anyone had any doubt as to the extent of cultural appreciation in this country just attend one of the many cultural events held at the Manoel or the Mediterranean Conference Centre and you will seem the same faces being recycled – maximum of 2,000 people.
So basically ‘critical thinking’ or rather the mind-numbing lack of it IS the issue. Your comment contradicts your opening line.
I put the blame wholly on Labour. They are always DECEITFUL.
When they want, they do explain things to the illiterate and ignorant but they do not when it suits them.
Well March the 9th for me confirmed what I knew all along, that the majority (55%) of Maltese are idiots with no brain whatsoever, only seeing as far as their noses and nothing else.
The inevitable will happen sooner than later.
“Our King”.
The “creme de la creme” of the Maltese society.
Kill. Me. Now.
Valletta might well have been nominated European Capital of Culture 2018 but Jason Micallef and his PS friend for Culture, Jose Herrera will ensure that no sartorial accolades will be forthcoming.
All four men in the picture look like a bunch of peasants dressed for a morning attending the Law Courts. Brown shoes with a blue suit, jeans teamed with a blazer (smart casual perhaps), cheap off-the-peg suits with trousers which are far too long and desperately needing hemming.
Now that could be an Iced Bun for Kennit, an appointment as Official Valet to Jose and co. Quelle bonne idée !
There’s one thing that can be said in Jason’s favour. He’s far more appropriately dressed than his boss. This is an official photograph, promoting V2018, and Jose’ Herrera saw fit to wear nothing better than a pair of jeans he’s probably had since he sat for A-levels.
Proset David Felice. Prosit also to Jason’s FB dorks and prosit switchers. RIP Malta.
Can’t get the trousers length right , let alone . And Jose seems to have spent the night in a skip.
Mulej hudni. This type of mentality is the reason why I am planning to remain away from Malta for the next five years.
The worse thing about all this is that Micallef did not “correct” the false comments on his FB page. At least he should have the decency to do so. Imma decency is an alien word for him and even for the PS who chose him.
At a European level your level of critical mindedness levels that of the levelled masses you so love to level down to their appropriate level.
No wonder you find the on-going quick-paced introduction of an array of new instruments towards EU central economic governance all so tedious, boring and, oh… ‘I don’t read about them so they don’t exist.’
So repeat after me: There is absolutely nothing to criticise about EU central economic governance. It is a perfect model. Tried and tested. Structurally and operationally based on the successful Soviet model. But we prefer to liken it with that of the US, which is also perfectly flawless.
Spettaklu tal-iprem kwalita. Il-merhla malament edukata titkaza bil-merhla maledukata.
To give you an idea of what new instruments I’m talking about, here’s a listing compiled by a colleague of mine, who’s a French lawyer: http://ukipmeps.org/uploads/file/EU_Economic_Governance_Beyond_Democracy.pdf
“Reading this kind of thing makes me desperate for Malta. Honestly, what hope is there, with such manifest lack of critical thinking?”
There is none. Sometimes I wish that hill in Gozo was indeed a dormant volcano.
I would like someone to interview Jason and ask him what his achievement is in all this.
Chairman my butt. More like a prima donna.
If I were David Felice I would have resigned immediately and left them all do whatever they like, u mela nhallihom jiehdu l-mertu huma ta’ xogholi waqt li jien noqghod fil-cupboard.
Wasn’t this the first of my Three Prophecies? One down, two to go.
The second quatrain should come true in September 2014.
Your post before the elections about who will be representing us in Valletta 2018 and the EU presidency in 2017, should Labour be elected, springs to mind.
Making me desperate for Malta is putting it mildly.
The amount of people defending the president re the Darleen issue, on facebook is also disgusting.
These people have no brains, they have no idea of what really goes on because they only hear/read their side of the media and yet they are the first to post their ignorant comments.
God help us.
The President is blameless. Also, he is eight feet tall and covered with fur.
Praise undeserved is satire in disguise. Alexander Pope
It’s as we say in Maltese ‘ tboss b’sorm haddiehor’
Issa tara kemm idumu jaghtu l-prosit.
Halli tohrog stima tal-ispiza, mbaghad tara kemm God bless.
Aha, so Brussels’ Manniquin Pis has a twin visiting this weekend.
Hopefully he’ll give his wee, wee Maltese bro his usual welcome.
I love Maltese expressions for their descriptiveness, because English can never come as close in such cases. As they say, Jason Micallef qed iboss b’sorm haddiehor.
L-injurant taqtalu denbu injurant jibqa.
Well dear Daphne as long as he keeps it up, does it well and is blessed by God he shouldn’t have a problem. If all else fails there’s always Viagra.
Vera kaz ta’ April jaghmel il fjuri u Mejju jiehu l-unuri.
“Good job and well done” for what?
Is it for posing in a photograph without putting in one ounce of work. Well if we think seriously using their cultural mentality, it is a job well done, as he is posing and bullshitting on the back of other people’s work.
This is their usual mentality and that is why I seriously believe I am a foreigner living in my own country.
A bunch of hypocritical parasites.
Ghaldaqshekk biss jinqalghu, biex jiehdu l-mertu minn fuq dahar haddiehor.
It is really the case of “A country gets the government it deserves”.
Vera kaz ta’ April jaghmel il-fjuri, u Mejju jiehu l-unuri.
Is Caldon Mercieca – culture and theatre consultant – wearing a mop on his head?
Jeans and blazer are so tacky especially on a senior government official.
I think that the majority of the Maltese people including those commenting on Jason’s wall know perfectly well who’s credit this Valletta 2018 event is. But some people are like leeches, want to make sure that they are seen by the winning team as being on their side in case there are some leftovers from the dinner party for which they would readily extend their hand to scoff it up.
These people have no principles, mentally inept and completely driven by petty greed.
They are extremely selfish and hypocritical and in my opinion absolute scum.
God help you if you find yourself in an emergency and they’re the only ones in your vicinity because they would quite happily leave you to drown if extending their hand means that it would get dirty in the process and especially if there is no public eye watching which would mean that they would get no public gratitude for it.
Yes that’s the type of people who go on Jason’s wall and congratulate him for his achievements for Valletta 2018.
It still amazes me that David Felice has not told them all where to get off. Has the man no pride?
They gave Jason his thunder and if it goes pear-shaped they will have him to blame.
Just tell them where they can stick their V-18 and go do something for yourself.
Just heard Jason on the 8 pm news on TVM stating that it will not only be Valletta but the whole of Malta participating in V.18 and this is because of the country’s geographical position.
Stupid me, I thought it was because of the size…..
Babilonja ta’ ruffjanizmu u laghqismu – meritokrazija Laburista.
Hbieb tal-hbieb ipperfezjonata ta’ veru.
Ara wiċċu veru bla żejt.
And those commenting on his vote probably all voted “No” 10 years ago!
Sometimes I think we might as well give the vote to cabbages.
Best comment is by Tony Formosa, tal-biki
* facepalm *
Is-sur John Dimech fuq fb qal lil Jason ‘Issa ejja flimkien nuruhom x’nafu naghmlu’ Tajba din wara li sab kollox lest.
X’faddallu jaghmel Jason nistghu nkunu nafu? Il-PL qed jurina x’jaf jaghmel ukoll ghax sab sodda mifruxa tajba.
Is-Sur David Felice imissu rrizenja mill-ewwel u mhux baqa hemm biex il-merti johodhom hadd iehor minghajr ma ghamel assolutament xejn. Fil-verita’ ma nafx ghaliex m’ghamilx dan il-pass.