So now we know why Roderick Galdes was there

Published: July 8, 2013 at 8:24pm

pr1455a

pr1455b

It was the PS for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, Roderick Galdes, who gave a press conference about a concert at Girgenti Palace (accompanied by the chatelaine, Mrs Muscat), and not the PS for Culture, Jose Herrera, because DONATIONS FOR ANIMALS ARE GOING TO BE COLLECTED DURING THE CONCERT.

Oh gosh, I see. The fact that money will be collected for animals takes precedence over the fact that this is the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra we are talking about, therefore it is the PS for Animals who should announce it, and not the PS for the Malta Philharmonic.

So….nothing to do with the fact that Jose Herrera is not exactly flavour of the year with Mrs Muscat and her husband, then.

As for the choice of animals to decorate the press conference for photogenic reasons, can we be a little less patheticly predictable and stupidly obvious? There is no way on earth those pampered matching terriers came from a sanctuary or are heading back to one as soon as the press conference is over.

But you can see the reasoning of people like Mrs Muscat and Roderick Galdes, who haven’t a clue what they’re talking about when it comes to animals: a dog is a dog is a dog is dog. Mhux kelb? Mhux xorta? And they chose those sort of dogs because they’re small, typically Maltese and not frightening or challenging for a PS for Animals who is probably scared of anything that comes with four legs, unless it’s dead and lying on his plate.




27 Comments Comment

  1. Giovanni says:

    Even the Muscat twins were there with mummy present for the occasion. ( Top photo bottom two)

    • Alf says:

      The occasion is called “Classics under the stars”, By any chance, do Michelle or Roderick consider themselves “Classics” or do they consider themselves as “Stars”. For me, they are neither one nor the other.

  2. QahbuMalti says:

    On the one hand they are seeking donations for animals and with the other hand they are refusing donations for those incarcerated whilst waiting for their asylum to be confirmed or denied.

    Bunch of xenophobic hypocrites who probably go to church every Sunday to pray for THEMSELVES.

  3. Alfred Bugeja says:

    Brilliant. So it’s ok to collect donations for dogs, but not ok to donate whatever you feel like donating to black migrants.

  4. Aston says:

    Xi hlew, an extension of the cute pets on Facebook theme, and the countless statuses about strays and animal cruelty. Oh we’re such a decent and humane bunch, makes us feel all warm inside.

    Immigrants are another matter though. Those we push back.

    • H. Prynne says:

      Thank you! Exactly what I said when I heard this claptrap on the news. Dogs > Immigrants.

      Also dogs should be saved (and they should), but birds can be shot and trapped. Some animals are valued more than others, while immigrants are valued not at all.

      Real animal lovers should boycott this farce as a protest to hunting in Malta, instead of sucking up to this despicable bunch of amateurs.

    • Tabatha White says:

      “Jahasra kemm ghadhom lura” is what comes to mind everytime.

      Everytime there is a dumb statement they announce.

      Everytime the excuse/ lie comes out to attempt to correct their erroneous line of thought and action.

      Everytime I think of all the many people who voted us into this political misery.

  5. thehobbit says:

    Roderick Galdes is the first person in public office for animal rights that I know of who, at the beginning of his tenure, decided to give us a demonstration of his legal acumen by extolling the virtues of a loophole in the Birds Directive that would allow (spring) hunting.

    Thankfully, he’s not the PS for Children’s Rights as he might have discovered a loophole in the Criminal Code allowing for paedophiles to enjoy child pornography.

  6. Xejn sew says:

    I see that Michelle has been stuffing herself as much as her husband does – she seems significantly larger than she did in Style magazine.

    Qishom tleft pasturi, xi hlew.

  7. H.P. Baxxter says:

    If music be the food of love, then surely it should have been Darleen Zerafa and someone from the GU clinic?

  8. Joseph Caruana says:

    Ah. So that’s why Michelle is wearing a dog-chain for a necklace.

  9. Alexander Ball says:

    Dig me up, prop me up, and shoot me again.

  10. Neil says:

    No doubt a hastily added adornment to the evening, in reaction your earlier post (yesterday, I believe), questioning why the hell Galdes was to be involved in/host the event in the bloody first place!

  11. Sgator says:

    They could have at least put up a diagram of REAL constellations, rather than a fake/haphazard joining of stars.

  12. pablo says:

    I have been trying to get my head around what the exact role of Michelle Muscat might be. She is the wife of an elected MP who is the PM. She did not stand for election.

    My point is that she is either paid OPM staff, in which case, she has a list of official duties, or on the other hand, she is allowed to usurp the office of her husband whenever the latter feels or needs to keep out out of sight of the media.

    I know of no other wife of a PM is paid out of the public purse to officially stand in for the PM.

    It is therefore expected that the media are entitled to ask her any question relating to official or political matters pertaining to “his and her” government.

  13. Lorna Schembri says:

    For the info….one of the Yorkshires had just been homed the day before. Anyone is invited to come visit the sanctuaries and see the type of dogs we have…yes we have pure breeds as well!! A dog is a dog….and it needs love but unfortunately humans aren’t always loyal to their pets!

    [Daphne – Really? How lucky that you found three matching ones, then. And what a jolly good idea to match dogs like shoes and handbags, to really drive home the point that people shouldn’t use them as accessories. I’m sorry if I sound impatient, but honestly. Three Yorkshire terriers? For a man? Or is Mrs Muscat now the PS for Animals? I imagine that if you brought out some normal dog, like a pointer or a proper mongrel, poor Roderick would have had to make it too obvious that he’s uncomfortable around them. And that’s why we didn’t have a single DOI photo showing the PS for Animals anywhere near a…dog.]

  14. charon says:

    Didn’t Michelle Muscat say, when interviewed, that she and her husband would be enjoying to the full the coming five years?

  15. CV says:

    Tajjeb ukoll! Nigbru ghal annimali iva, imma karita man-nies le! Il-valuri nqalbu ta’ taht fuq!

  16. Gahan says:

    “….and it needs love but unfortunately humans aren’t always loyal to their pets !”

    If humans aren’t even loyal towards other humans, how can they be loyal to their pets?

    Just listen to this exchange overheard on a bus this evening.

    LP: I saw the whole ceremony in Lampedusa, he’s really a good Pope.

    PN: So he convinced you that your attitude towards the refugees was wrong; all that talk of sending them back on the same boat at gunpoint was really so un-Christian.

    LP: Don’t start again with jibes against Joseph, we can’t afford any more of those black Muslims landing on our shores! We will lose our identity.

    PN: You already lost yours, you don’t seem to embrace what the Pope said, you don’t look Christian with that kind of attitude towards people in need.

  17. Lorna Schembri says:

    There were four… To be exact. Three of them are mine and Iwill never abandon them! The other one was on Facebook for adoption till yesterday noon and managed to home her after the event! When will we see you support us sanctuaries dear? I can give you any dog to hold if you want … We have nice and pure breeds as well, timid and active… All your choice… But let me tell you … They are all beautiful … Different ( if not in breed, in character) but adorable!
    Educating people should be one of our targets! Support us pls by writing against animal abuse!

    [Daphne – I have kept dogs for many years but I’m afraid I do not anthropomorphise them. I do not really approve of dog sanctuaries, but I know this is a contentious opinion so I prefer to stay out of it. No, not all dogs are beautiful. Some are utterly hideous. If I were to take on the task of ‘educating people’, I would begin by campaigning against treating dogs like babies, putting bows in their hair, giving them dinky dresses and kooky names, and letting them sleep on the bed. I would also campaign against showing pictures of one’s pets on Facebook and elsewhere on the understanding that nobody else gives a damn (they don’t want to see pictures of your cute children, either, let alone your cute dogs) and would strongly recommend that if people want a child they should have one, and if their children have grown up, dogs are not a substitute.]

    • H.P. Baxxter says:

      What’s wrong with that, huh? I mean we already anthropomorphised an ass and a bullfrog, and made them prime minister and interior minister, respectively.

    • Neil says:

      Hammer ==> Nail ==> Head

      Oh, and just as a FB aside, we don’t need to see your bloody breakfast, lunch, dinner or bedtime-snack sandwich either.

    • Christina Pace says:

      Daphne, I have never been happier that you are not touring schools in Malta educating children about dogs. Your idea of education is not only useless, it is also incorrect. Dog pictures, particularly puppy pictures reduce anxiety in most people and the companionship of a dog can often alleviate the symtoms of depression. It is up to the owners to decide what they want out of their dogs and as long long as it is not harmful, I say let them. After all those dogs are better taken care of than the ones left to die of neglect, or the ones locked on a roof or in the basedment away from sight (perhaps because their owners believe no one wants to see their cute dogs and doesn’t want them on the bed). If they would rather give their love to an animal instead of children, who do you think you are to share your opinion about it? The importatn educational messages ARE about responsible ownership: clean after your dog, neuter your pet, socialise your pet, exercise your pet, adopt from a sanctuary, adopt an older pet, vaccinate and use a vet regularly, deworm regularly, de-flea regularly. Anything beyond that is simply your personal opinion and you should hang your dirty laundry in public because it stinks. What you said is the opposite of what people need to hear.Honestly it is your picture that makes me sick. I’d rather see a dog covered in feaces than your face.

      [Daphne – People who are neurotically obsessed with dogs and cats are among the most tedious in existence. You manifest exactly the same symptoms and personality traits as though who become obsessed with happy-clappy religion or addicted to whatever. Can’t you just be normal? Apparently not. A dog is a pet animal, not Jesus Christ incarnate, and a cat is not a child substitute. It’s a cat.]

  18. Lady Oscar says:

    isn’t it odd how similiar the dogs’ hairstyle and Lady Muscat’s are?

Leave a Comment