Couldn’t find her contact details either. So much for being a trade envoy (or whatever her fancy title is). She just wants to stay away from the Minister, I would say, and they found a way to cover it up not to embarrass him (further).

As a fellow reader commented here: we are paying the alimony which should, in reality, be paid by Konrad Mizzi.

This should read –

“f that’s the case, why bother with Henley and Something when you have her at 13k a month rather than zillions being paid out.”

The interview was placed by Malta Enterprise, along with all the others, for a fee.

She’s selling passports.

Paul, I cannot agree more.

This must go down in the Guinness Book as the most costly interview in history. Close to a quarter of a million euros including all expenses and perks.

All paid for by Maltese workers.

Isthu, jekk tafu kif.

Silvio, from experience doing similar work it is IMPOSSIBLE for a single person to cover all those markets. This a significant point that most seem to be missing.

Your simple per market cost formula shows a deep lack of knowledge of how marketing foreign direct investment words. One person per market has a greater potential to attract investment. In business people look at return on investment and not simply costs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27882954

Who are the armed men sitting in rented cars with tinted windows?

Shortly after the media alleged that former Libyan PM Zeidan was in Malta under armed guard, the Government of Malta denied it. There was much speculation about who the person living under armed guard was, but in my opinion, I believe we have all asked ourselves the wrong question.
Yes, it is interesting to know whether former Libyan PM Zeidan is/was in Malta. Government attempts to hide him and protect him may or may not reflect on the judgement of the present government, but does the answer affect us in our daily lives? No.
The real question we should be asking ourselves is: who were the armed, suited men sitting in rented cars with tinted windows that we saw in the photographs of the Xemxija apartments? Whether the men were armed or not, whether short sleeved shirts qualify as suits, whether the cars were or were not rented and whether or not the windows were tinted is entirely irrelevant, but I will make these fair assumptions, for effect.
In denying that the the former Libyan Prime Minister was in Malta, and in stating that the identity of the person under guard cannot be divulged for national security reasons – the government has – probably unintentionally – confirmed that the armed men outside the Xemxija apartments were sent by the government. The residents of Xemxija could thus put their minds at rest, because those men were policemen. However, that indirect confirmation was only obtained because the story of former Libyan PM Zeidan’s alleged stay in Malta broke in the media, and the government chose not to ignore it, probably because Malta’s reputation was on the line.
But what would happen if armed, suited men were sitting in a rented car with tinted windows all day long outside our homes, day after day? How would we know that these men are not organised burglars? As residents, we would have reason to be concerned. Do we approach the car, knock on the window and demand to know who they are? And if we did that, would they show us any identification? And if they did, how would that identification look like? And if they do not identify themselves, do we call the police and report suspicious activity in our street? Would the police turn up and put our minds at rest? Or would we have to go on about our business without knowing who these people are, and what they are doing just outside our house?
Police officers are normally uniformed and use identifiable police cars. For instance, the police car parked permanently in front of the Libyan embassy in Balzan – and the uniformed policemen in it – are no cause for concern. They can be identified.
Logic would dictate that police officers who do not wear uniforms do so in order not to attract attention. But armed suited men sitting in a rented car with tinted windows for weeks on end attract a lot of attention and concern from residents. And in my opinion, there are two causes for this concern.
First, the lack of identification leads to reduced accountability for the actions of these officers. So if any of them should turn rogue, you might have a hard time identifying them. We are all human beings, and anonymity is conducive to abusive behaviour in some people – whether they are in law enforcement or not.
Secondly, if as a nation we are going to become immune to armed, suited men sitting in rented cars with tinted windows, day in day out, just outside our home, and if as a consequence of this immunity we just accept this as being a normal state of affairs, does this not open the doors for future abuses because we would have been silenced, and unable to obtain replies?
Not to mention the possibility that genuinely suspicious activity will no longer be reported because in the minds of many citizens, anyone wearing aviators and loitering in our street is probably a police officer, and thus there is nothing to worry about. And even if it was cause for concern, the police would probably not turn up to put our minds at rest. Where would this end?
To conclude, I believe that yes, you sometimes do need plain clothes policemen in order not to attract attention. Bodyguards and other security personnel also do not need uniforms. But once the police decides to guard somebody long term in a place where one does not expect to find policemen, and those officers are stationed in that area for the long term, those policemen should wear a police uniform and use a police car to put the residents’ minds at rest. Armed, unidentified, suited men sitting in rented cars with tinted windows, day in day out, just outside our homes, should have no place in a free and transparent Europe. It has a home, and it is called East Germany.