Have you heard the one about the sinking African immigrant and the Maltese navy?

Published: July 12, 2013 at 11:24am

Blame my British sense of humour




41 Comments Comment

  1. aston says:

    “Joseph, dear boy, Immigrants drown, navies sink.”

  2. RoyB says:

    He wouldn’t know British humour if it painted itself purple and danced naked on top of a harpsichord, singing “British humour is here again!”

    With apologies to Richard Curtis and Ben Elton.

  3. L.Gatt says:

    Great one. Look at the body language. The star struck smile and the fidgeting with his cuff links. Imbasta jaghmilha tal-bully. Face to face he clearly feels out of this depth (as he should).

  4. Joseph Abela says:

    Daphne,

    I am hearing repeatedly that a survey is showing that if a referendum were held today in Malta asking if these poor people should be repatriated and pushed back, 85% would respond as yes, meaning they agree with that policy.

    Is this true? did you see this survey and were was it published?

    Thanks

    Joseph

    [Daphne – I don’t know of any such survey. And in any case, a referendum result/majority vote does not give a government permission to violate human rights. What the majority think about this matter is irrelevant. The European Convention on Human Rights is supreme.]

    • Jozef says:

      The story yesterday was that Van Rompuy had to come down at short notice to listen to Muscat.

      There’s comments pointing to 20,000+ immigrants on the island.

      Rumours have taken over.

      Muscat’s method in opposition carried over to matters where an obligation to truth exists will see us plunged in daily controversy.

      He will exist when chaos prevails.

      Italy’s about to do away with Berlusconi after two decades of constant bickering leaving the country in tatters, trust us to take it up.

      • Catsrbest says:

        Correct me if I’m wrong, but it is a fallacy isn’t it that there are 20,000+ immigrants on the island? There are much less, if I’m not mistaken the figure is around 5,000 or so. I believe that this lie should be vigorously tackled and corrected.

    • Wilson says:

      There is also another one on inews Malta at the bottom of the site under a title ‘stharrig’, which I make to be the word for survey or research. It has an 85% figure.

      • ciccio says:

        Joseph Muscat told the media that racists are a tiny minority. Maybe he should publish his surveys.

    • Neil says:

      Exactly – they can conduct as many polls as they like. No referendum will be held, but even if one was it would bear no relevance at all. It may smell of coffee…..but that’s about it.

    • Someone says:

      Well we’ve already seen what a mess a majority vote has put us in and half a year hasn’t gone by yet. Democracy has its limitations.

    • M... says:

      What’s this obsession with referenda? You elect a government to govern not to consult the people on every issue.

      A referendum is the worst possible solution on all minority rights.

    • C.F. says:

      http://andrewazzopardi.org/2013/07/11/opinion-poll-taqbel-mal-posizzjoni-li-qed-jiehu-l-pm-muscat-dwar-l-immigrazzjoni-irregolari/

      Hi, Daphne i think Joseph Abela is refering to this and the result is astounding.

      [Daphne – Hardly scientific, and in any case, my previous reply still holds. That’s about as useful as holding a poll on what the majority thinks about forcing gay men to live in ghettos.]

      • Jozef says:

        Trid tkun bahnan biex taqbad poll b’domanda wahda f’dat-tahwid biex tkompli trewwah.

        Dan lecturer l-Universita?

      • H.P. Baxxter says:

        Dazgur. U opportunist spjetat, carlatan u narcissist mill-kbar. Kif ukoll household name. Mela intokkabbli.

      • Toni says:

        What is HIS reply?

      • ciccio says:

        Andrew Azzopardi is an educator, and he is paid for it.

        He should be educating the public with his opinion, not wasting time conducting surveys of the public’s ignorance.

    • Louis Amato-Gauci says:

      It is never, ever appropriate to make a human or civil rights question the subject of a referendum.

      • Betty says:

        You are so right, sir.

        Dr Azzopardi should know better as a senior lecturer in education. I cannot understand what his survey can contribute towards subjects he teaches, such as social or youth and community studies.

      • observer says:

        I had thought that Andrew Azzopardi was made of much better staff. I’m afraid I was very wrong indeed!

    • ken il malti says:

      It is still setting up the nation to fail.

      Malta cannot have two policeman or policewomen 24/7 plus a full time mind reader with every citizen who thinks that the illegal migrants should be off the island and pushed back.

      In the long run everything will stop functioning as a protest or boycott with every increase percentage point of illegal migrants because the Maltese people are not the Dutch people that will swallow any politically correct manifesto from the invisible brotherhood with their unwavering mandates that run the EU.

      The Maltese are just Catholic Libyans with a veneer of European-ness to them that is only about 200 years fresh and still tacky to the touch.

    • J. Parnis says:

      Quote ‘What the majority think about this matter is irrelevant’ Well done. That’s nice to hear Daphne. And you try preach on democracy!

      [Daphne – You know nothing of democracy, Parnis. Democracy is not solely about majority rule. It is also about the protection of minorities from the depredations of the majority, and above all, it is about making sure that fundamental human rights are not violated.]

      • FP says:

        All those who are insisting that this is a matter of majorities and democracy are signing their own “death warrant”, for they will, one day, find themselves on the other side, alone or in a minority, demanding that their rights be respected.

        “What about MY rights?”, they’ll insist.

        And then they’ll be reminded that they themselves once voted in a referendum to waiver human rights.

        “Ooops!”

        But then it’d be too late, for the vote would have been taken.

        This is, of course, all conjecture, for even the mere consideration of holding a referendum to waiver human rights would bring certain disqualification from all international communities with all that that brings with it.

        Then, perhaps, it’ll dawn on a few of the majority that a country’s credibility is built through hard work and determination by right-minded leaders, not herds with placards roaming the streets led by a bunch of cowboys.

      • cettina says:

        Oh my god…. what ignorance…

        Mr/s Parnis, I hope that what you just said was a joke, and that you were just taking the mickey.

        So you really really think that democracy is all about majority rule? Can someone help this guy /gal please. donate some books to him or something?

  5. Joseph Abela says:

    “What the majority think about this matter is irrelevant.”

    Daphne, this is absolutely UNDEMOCRATIC – I didn’t expect this from you!!!! It’s the same argument Alfred Sant used in the EU referendum!

    [Daphne – You can neither read nor think, and you know precious little about democracy. I repeat: What the majority think ABOUT THIS MATTER is irrelevant. The clue is in the capital letters. Democracy demands the safeguarding of minorities against the depredations of the majority. Also, there can be no majority rule on matters of human rights. That happens in UNDEMOCRATIC countries and not in democracies. It bears no relation whatsoever to Alfred Sant’s lack of regard for a referendum outcome on EU membership. They are entirely separate issues. EU membership is not a human rights violation.]

    • FP says:

      Daphe, this won’t work.

      You’ll need to use short sentences, preferably double-spaced with checkboxes next to each one, with clear instructions not to read the next sentence before ticking the previous one, and ticking them ONLY after having fully understood the sentence.

    • Gakku says:

      “If it be admitted that a man possessing absolute power may misuse that power by wronging his adversaries, why should not a majority be liable to the same reproach? Men do not change their characters by uniting with one another; nor does their patience in the presence of obstacles increase with their strength.

      For my own part, I cannot believe it; the power to do everything, which I should refuse to one of my equals, I will never grant to any number of them.”

      – Alexis de Tocqueville, “Tyranny of the Majority,” Chapter XV, Book 1, Democracy in America (1835)

    • cettina says:

      Mr Abela

      Let me give you a simple illustration of how wrong your argument is, shall I?

      Maybe it will make it easier for you to comprehend how important it is for you to think before you write.

      So if the majority of your neighbours decided they just didn’t like your face and that they would protest and demand that you are removed from your house and your village, they would be right and you would have to pack up and leave.

      And I suppose you would do it gladly wouldn’t you? It is the majority demanding it so they must be right, mhux hekk.

      Daphne, can we organise some basic courses for these guys, please.

  6. Mark says:

    Reincarnation seems to have gone rather badly for Oscar Wilde.

  7. Basla says:

    You don’t put a referendum about human rights. they don’t know what they are talking about. As if now we can put a referendum on anything.

  8. marks says:

    “We have a competitive edge, we share the same region and a relatively similar culture as North Africa. The single most important sector earmarked by North African leaders is education,” Dr Muscat said.

    Is this British sense of humour?

    • Victor says:

      So I wasn’t the only one who noticed that. Similar culture as North Africa???

      Is this Dom Mintoff speaking?

      God please help us!

  9. Zeppo says:

    The survey is in fact a poll being run on the maltatoday news portal.

  10. bob-a-job says:

    Here’s another lesson in perfect English

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL9Com1ueEk

  11. roundhead says:

    Pity he did not mention our superb air-force as well.

  12. Rumplestiltskin says:

    If a poll as to whether a husband has the right to beat his wife shows an overall majority in favour, does that make it right? Universal truths cannot be subjected to polls. But then, perhaps, this is just another case of ‘misunderstood British sense of humour.’

  13. In the 1940’s a Malta university student tried to silence Professor Fogarty by declaring, “Vox populi, vox Dei” to which the professor answered, “I have a higher opinion of the Almighty”.

    However, the results of opinion polls, assuming that they are carried out in a scientific way, can be relevant in assessing the general opinion in a group on a certain subject.

    But that is a very far cry from saying that they are relevant in deciding what is right or wrong, or desirable..

  14. Pitravu says:

    Why not conduct a poll to do away with income tax and VAT.
    I am sure 90% of will vote in favour of it.

  15. Mopsyteen says:

    I am totally against the violation of human rights and that it is every human being’s right to be respected and protected from racists and violators of international conventions.

    Yes we must respect the EU Convention on Human Rights, but is the EU respecting its agreements towards other member states? Does it respect our size and that we have our limits? Democracy should reign supreme however how will we cope if we end up with thousands of irregular immigrants in a matter of months?Can the EU tell us?

    [Daphne – The European (not EU) Convention on Human Rights has absolutely nothing to do with the EU. Malta was a signatory of the first long before it joined the second.]

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