Cock-fights can be most intellectual, you know
Published:
March 28, 2012 at 1:24pm
In The Times, today:
Concluding, Dr Debono spoke about the intellectuals in society. Dr Debono said he did not consider himself as a rebel, but as a reformer.
The great intellectuals were sometimes viewed as rebels because they instigated change.
Intellectuals posed questions. They questioned the status quo. Were the current intellectuals asking enough? Were they being rebels to bring about change?
Right, now he’s an intellectual. And then he got very cross when I said that he walked into parliament carrying The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying for the same reasons that teenagers walked around with the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 30 years ago.
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I wonder which intellectuals Franco Debono is drawing comparison to.
One might not agree with the way that he goes about doing things, but we must surely admit that he is a reformer with a capital R.
Thanks to him, the P.N. has, at least it’s trying, to move closer to us mortals.
For this alone we should be grateful to Franco.
And that makes him an intellectual?
He also said the police need political direction. Has he learned nothing from our recent past? We know how well that went, last time round.
What?
If it’s just one of his intellectual questions, a big fluorescent NO is what he will get.
I’m going to have to attribute that to a mistranslation by the journalist; “direzzjoni politika”, in the above context, should have been translated as “policy direction” and not “political direction”
If that is not the case, then Dr Debono needs to brush up his history.
He would be a good minister for Injustice: where is his social conscience in his proposal to reform police pensions?
Ironically it would be ‘great’ for the officer’s spouse if the officer dies (and Franco, please note that there are also policewomen).
The widow/er according to Franco can have two pensions and can also work, while the downstairs workers in the private sector toil to finance this harebrained idea.
He didn’t manage to become Justice and Home Affairs Parliamentary Secretary, he didn’t manage to become Justice and Home Affairs Minister, he didn’t manage to become Prime Minister, but now that Peter Seracino Ingott has died, he thinks that’s a possible ‘situation vacant’ for him.
You express my thoughts exactly about this one.
Dr Debono should ask himself whether it is fun and worthwhile considering himself a lofty intellectual when his actions are so easily predictable and transparent anyway ?
I believe an MP can be made to resign his seat in Parliament in case of proven mental infirmity. Perhaps it is time to explore this avenue seriously.
What an utter waste of time, considering that the legislature is in any case in its last mile, irrespective of whether we go for early elections or not.
Apart from that, can you please explain how you are detecting the possibility of mental infirmity, and how come this never occurred to you when FD was still within the ranks, as it were?
Chapter 6, Article 54 (1)(e) of the Constitution of Malta Disqualifications
for membership of
House of
Representatives.
Amended by:
LVIII.1974.21;
XXXVIII. 1976.2.
(1) No person shall be qualified to be elected as a member
of the House of Representatives –
(e) if he is interdicted or incapacitated for any mental
infirmity or for prodigality by a court in Malta, or is
otherwise determined in Malta to be of unsound mind;
Wayne, the disqualification here applies to being elected as an MP. It does not say anything about disqualification from holding that position.
Under this Article, it seems that one would need to prove that an MP was already mentally infirm before his or her election.
I don’t know about the fighting bit, but for sure he’s a cock.
In Maltese we say qisu z…
I have never met an intellectual who actually identifies himself as one. And I certainly cannot imagine anyone using their Form 2 certificate or merely reading books as a basis for putting themselves in this class.
In fact I find the very idea of proclaiming himself an “intellectual” very amusing.
Dear Franco: You can only be recognised as an intellectual by others. There is no way you can be an “intellectual” just by deciding you are going to call yourself that way. It is as futile as saying you are “an unemployed actor”.
If he is so brimming over with ideas, he should start writing books. I am not sure he ever noticed, but most “intellectuals” are usually NOT to be found in parliament, and the questions they ask are definitely not of the PQ type.
Next thing he’ll be proposing a university course for B. Intellect. (Hons).
He will soon tell us how humble he is.
My reaction exactly to when I read the article! He is so full of himself its almost disgusting. He’s an intellectual based on his St Aloysius report card or because mummy used to tell him so!
Note to PN – please for next election choose your candidates better! Because of this lot I’m almost ashamed to say I voted for you.
Franco Debono is now championing the bird-trappers’ cause.
Guess why. He himself is a bird-trapper.
It’s all about him, his job and now his hobbies. Incredible. Where does the rest of the country come in. Isn’t that why he was elected?
Bil-Malti jghidu ‘meta l-qalziet tal-missier jigi lit-tifel, il-missier jista’ jmur jindifen’.
Pero’ dan zgur ma’ japplikax ghal Franco Debono ghax hlief cucati ma’ jghidx!
Din tghodd ghalih: “Min qatt ma libes qalziet ,l-ewwel darba li libsu ghamel fih.”
On timesofmalta.com:
Roberta Debono
Today, 16:17
Mr.Dom Mintoff our saviour and the best man ever, he sure showed the British who is boss in our country.
Some people would say God Save the Queen> WRONG < i say God save Dom Mintoff.
That’s typical of comments uploaded on The Times’s website. I’m starting to give up even trying to send my comments, or write letters for that matter.
I wonder if they’re still employing Norman Hamilton’s daughter as sub-editor.
…which reminds me of a Blackadder episode when the seven most evil men in the land chanted “God save the king” adding “because nobody else will” …
Hi Daphne, whatever happened to Nicky Azzopardi & his blog?
[Daphne – No idea.]
I quite honestly think that if there was legislation banning the use of the word ‘I’ and its derivatives, Franco Debono would find himself unable to speak.
Here’s an intellectual joke which Franco might enjoy.
Two weevils went to St Aloysius college. One took off to Brussels and soon became the leader of a major political party and eventually a prime minister. The other weevil stayed in his tiny backward village and in spite of his ego and pushy mum never ever amounted to much –and naturally ended up being known to posterity as the lesser of two weevils.
It beggars belief that so many people seem to have so much time for Franco Debono.
He is now passe’.
Appeasement has not worked in his regard for reasons which should not be delved into. He is still entitled to his privacy where health matters are concerned.
The sooner the government dissolves parliament the better for the government, the PN and the country.
The minute parliament is dissolved, the PN is then expected to give Debono the Order of the Boot in recognition of his deranged services to the party.
He should also be awarded the Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish medal by the Kunsill Generali.
This is the truth of the matter.
Of course he’s not a rebel. A 37-year old rebel still living with his parents. Sure.