“I just adore the irony. Eurosceptics who milk the European Union set-up for a living.

The irony you see derives solely from your Pollyanna mentality, Daphne. The EU is our new country, forced down our throat by that same mentality. If you think we are not effective in what we do, think again. This is political activism at the highest possible levels. No ego is involved in our work. Just plain satisfaction when we see good results. Sorry I can’t share. I generally avoid doing that with gossipmongers and tarts.

I like Kevin’s no-beating-round-the-bush/straight answers.

Gahan, I’ll close this by answering your questions, I had missed.

Question 1: “Can you tell us how a police officer should behave if he finds out that an innocent man has been held on remand 36 hours and fifty minutes already when he is told/ordered to stop investigating the case?”

Answer: Just pick up the phone and inform his direct superior (and he could have also called his erring colleagues at the CID).

Q. “Keep in mind that the officer is serving the honest citizen. Was there a way for the force to cover up this blunder, without punishing further the innocent Mr Borg, if Taliana informed his superiors?”

A. I cannot imagine a way to cover up this blunder without committing another blunder. How would they do that? ‘Issa mur id-dar, hi, u tghid lil hadd, ta…’ That would not work would it?

Q. “What’s your take about the go-between, Charles Iz-Zambi, who was present at the meeting between Mr Borg and Silvio Scerri?”

A. Froga papali. Iz-Zambi’s involvement is clearly untenable.

Q. “Do you believe Mr Borg needed an ex-convict to fix a meeting with Mr Scerri when he knew he would be appearing before the police board?”

A. No, don’t be silly. All Borg needed was the truth that sets him free, and thanks to Inspector Taliana it did emerge.

My wife is NOT a PL candidate. She runs a European political party that is at odds with the European party with which the PL is affiliated.

[Daphne – My, how very unstable. She most certainly was a Labour candidate, in the EP elections.]

I work with yet another Eurosceptic party at European level.

[Daphne – I just adore the irony. Eurosceptics who milk the European Union set-up for a living.]

As for partisan politics, that is the staple of Lilliputians like you, Daphne. It’s what saves you from having to argue a point rationally and objectively.

[Daphne – Lilliputians, Kevin, are people who take their context with them wherever they go, and who, wherever they go, retain their village hamalla mentality. I don’t know about you, but I certainly know about your wife: lives and works in Belgium but in Malta, can’t and won’t wrench herself out of the Andy and Vince/Natius Ola/Jaff and Karrrmennn social circle of tota hamalli from hell. So please, don’t give me Lilliputians.]

Ghoxrin Punt, concerning the board’s brief, it seems to only relate to Taliana’s actions. This is strategically and politically unwise, since although his case is serious inasmuch as malicious intent is concerned (going against the institutional grain, to boot), the blunder perpetrated by the two CID officers, even if we assume them to be lacking in malicious intent, has had far more serious consequences than Taliana’s actions (the extra hours Borg spent in prison as a result of Taliana’s silence are inconsequential in comparison).

Unlike Daphne, I am not arguing the case from a political perspective. But surely, to do that, one first needs to acknowledge that Taliana’s actions were undignified and that he deserved what was coming. I would expect the commissioner to take the necessary steps in regard to the two CID officers, too.

[Daphne – “I am not arguing the case from a political perspective”, says the husband of a Labour candidate and the brother-in-law of an entire posse of diehard Labour fixers, one of whom was a police officer and is using his connections in the police force.]

By accepting that Justice Reform position, Giovanni Bonello has allowed them to gag him and also to acquire his great, good name to bolster their poor credibility.

He is more than capable of doing the job, but I somehow don’t think they are at all interested in whether he does it or not. All they wanted was his name on board their bandwagon. Now that they have got that, they are not really interested in whether or what he delivers.

Justice reform? The first opportunity they have to deliver justice, they turn all principles upside down and deliver a frame-up instead.

Giovanni Bonello will hate me for saying this, but I have far too much respect for him to hold back. He has become the proverbial mejda tal-qubbajd, in true Maltese fashion.

I suppose he reckons he might as well milk the system for all it’s worth, seeing as he’s at the end of his career. But it ill befits him.

Kev, correct me if I am wrong, but was the Police Board not told to investigate why an innocent person was accused.

I would have throught that trying to see why the knob-heads were at fault would have been the main thrust of the investigation. I don’t know, like looking at who the tip came from, could that person be trusted, etc.

Blaming the inspector who actually caught the crook should not have been the central point of the investigation. and if they did look into his action, then they should also have looked into the magistrates actions. After all we are only talking about 50 mins on the part of Taliana and a significant number of hours on the part of the knob-heads

If they are knob heads – should they be in the CID? Imagine knob heads making it to the CIA or the FBI, or even the KGB.

So let’s be practical, Kevin. Can you tell us how a police officer should behave if he finds out that an innocent man has been held on remand 36 hours and fifty minutes already when he is told/ordered to stop investigating the case?

Keep in mind that the officer is serving the honest citizen.

Was there a way for the force to cover up this blunder, without punishing further the innocent Mr Borg, if Taliana informed his superiors?

What’s your take about the go-between, Charles Iz-Zambi, who was present at the meeting between Mr Borg and Silvio Scerri?

Do you believe Mr Borg needed an ex-convict to fix a meeting with Mr Scerri when he knew he would be appearing before the police board?