Yet another rabid ‘go back where you came from’ attack on a non-Maltese
This letter was carried in The Times yesterday. I strongly suggest to whoever is responsible at Police HQ that Mr Zahra de Domenico be called in to give a statement, which the police should then immediately act upon. Physically assaulting another person is not a matter for the ADT just because this man is a bus-driver, but a matter for the police. The ADT only has the power to fine him and withdraw his licence. It does not have the power to arrest him, question him, and arraign him in court. This man gets away with it, while five policemen pounce on a defenceless black man, handcuff him like a dog to a low bench on his knees, and beat him up, then take him to the depot for the night and arraign him the next morning, where he is found guilty of assaulting them.
Please explain to me why Malta is taking such a long time to reach the basic norms of civilized behaviour.
Monday, 30th June 2008
Savage assault on bus passenger
Alfred Zahra de Domenico, Sliema
On Wednesday, June 25 at just after 11 p.m. a bus stopped suddenly at Balluta, St Julians, where the driver got out of his seat and repeatedly savagely assaulted one of his passengers, a foreign young man, who was sitting on the seat on the driver’s left. Other passengers in the bus, mostly young foreign females, could be seen and heard running screaming in a panic towards the back of the vehicle out of harm’s way.
Naturally the young man got up to defend himself and found himself cornered in the bus, subjected to a prolonged shower of heavy blows from the driver. Eventually the young man was thrown off the bus, his shirt torn. When the young man shouted insults at his aggressor, the driver leapt out of his bus and assaulted his passenger on the pavement.
A number of passersby attempted not so successfully to restrain him. While all this was going on numerous passersby, most of whom were tourists, stopped in shocked silence to observe the commotion. One voice was heard shouting, “Stop hitting him”.
I immediately phoned the St Julians police station to inform them of the incident and to give them the bus number, which I still have. However after the phone, having rung for one full minute, not eliciting a reply, I called the police on 119. The officer on duty immediately answered the phone and on being told of the incident, instead of asking me for more details and alerting a mobile squad vehicle, asked me whether I had filed a report at the local police station, a good 15 minutes walk away from where I was standing, as it is up to them to take action. I told him that I was reporting the incident to him and asked him for his number, which he gave me. He never asked me for the bus number or for any further information about the unfolding incident. By the time my conversation with the bureaucratic police officer was over the bus driver had returned to his bus and resumed his journey, presumably to Valletta.
The purpose of this letter is to publicly bring this incident to the attention of the powers that be for them to investigate both the aggression on the young bus passenger and the reaction of the police officer when I reported the incident. The citizens of this island can do without aggressive bus drivers and bureaucratic police officers.
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@Daphne
“Please explain to me why Malta is taking such a long time to reach the basic norms of civilized behaviour.”
Quite simply because we are NOT yet civilised. In a civilised country that bus driver would be behind bars or at the minimum on bail right now and those wannabe police officers (and wannabe men) suspended without pay.
As to those people who had the sheer gall (biex ma nghidx wicc imcappas bill h**a) to try to defend those brute beasts in uniform the less said the better.
Worst bit is that the black guy, beaten and humiliated by police, pleaded guilty the following day in court…
I wonder why.
It is only in an uncivilised country that a police officer or imitations in this case, would even dream of daring to beat up a defenseless person.
You vile beasts are a disgrace to the uniform!
Is it possible nobody filmed it with a mobile phone?
Daphnie, with reference to the above, kindly note that yesterday afternoon Assistant Commissioner Brincat invited me and my wife to meet him at Police HQ where we discussed the disgusting incident we had witnessed. My wife and I made a statment on the incident and even before we left Assistant Commissioner Brincat’s office, the bus driver involved had been identified and taken to Police HQ to be interviewed. Also identified was the bureaucratic police officer. Very unfortunately the incident was also witnessed by our house guest, an Italian journalist working for the RCS publishing group. Ironically the incident occurred as she was commenting on how pleasant it was to feel so safe while walking in the street at night. This in contrast to her home town, Milan.
This is only the last series of alleged brutality by members of the police force.
As we are told, whenever a passing out parade takes place, police corps members are periodically asked to follow refresher courses – humane behavoiur vis-a-vis one and all seems to be lacking however.
The Times of today reports 2 very serious acts, which if proved to be true, should be followed by criminal proceedings in court and if found guilty photos should be on all papers and kicked out from the force. And one other thing, thay should not end up as bouncers at any of the nightclubs.
I ask – if the alleged African man was aggressive why didn’t the police use pepper spray rather than violently abbuse of the man. Although I am against prolonged stays by immigrants, I will never accept violence by the police. This behaviour remindes us of the 70s and 80s and we all thought this was eradicated – was it ? !!
Do we appreciate how much damage these acts have caused us with tourists ? The bus driver should be behind bars for the next 5 years and when are we going to update our laws for all to observe
The Minister and Police Commissioner have a lot of explaining to do and need to be quick at it in order to put our mind at rest
Joseph in-Nazzjonalist:
“This is only the last series of alleged brutality by members of the police force.”
I hope you are correct.
Forget the damage caused to our reputation with tourists, Joseph – that has nothing to do with it. We don’t keep our streets clean and our police non-brutal for the sake of tourists, but for our own sake. Tourists are by the by.
Alfred, thank you for keeping us informed of the latest development in this horrible story. I’m glad to see that the police are acting on these reports that appear in the newspapers. My son was called in to give a statement about the beating of that man in Paceville, too.
The police force has every right to use force when it deems it necessary. I don’t think that the Paceville incident was incited by the police. This isn’t the first time that it has occurred and I think the police are fed up with this ongoing trouble. They’re simply venting their frustration. With regards to ‘excessive force’, I must point out that policemen in France are armed with submachine guns and bulletproof vests while ours do not carry even a cheap Berretta pistol. Any disturbance such as this and they’ll be coming on you like a ton of bricks.
‘Arms keep the peace’ – Roman proverb
[Moderator – Kicking someone in the stomach while they are squirming in agony on the floor is unnecessary, and the place for people who violently vent their frustration on others is not the police force. We’re talking about a human being here, not a dog which you can just kick in the stomach. And where did you hear this tale about the French police? The French municipal police rarely carry guns – which is the norm across most of Europe – and when they do, it’s just a revolver. There was a time when the police stationed in Paceville were carrying sub-machine guns. It was just after a man was stabbed to death outside Bamboo Bar. If anything, and I remember this very well because I would be there every weekend, it just made the situation worse. Everyone was on edge and there were many more fights than usual, and some of the most violent I’ve ever seen.]
It is very worrying to read about cases like this and I hope that impunity will not prevail.
Regarding bus drivers, once I was going to a tourist place in the South and a black man who got in the bus after me didn’t have small change. The bus driver argued with the man and got down of the bus to beat him while threatening that he was going to call the police. The bus was almost empty so I was scared. I wanted to pay for the man’s ticket but I just froze.
That incident also reminded me of the time when a bus driver pushed me to the back touching my legs in the process…
Of course I have also seen many bus drivers who are very gentle and helpful when you ask them questions about how to get to a tourist place for instance.
I think that a training course on good manners and tourism should be provided, the buses should improve as well. At the end of the day the bus drivers don’t have the comfort of having AC for instance which could be very useful for them in Summer. After all, it is their work place.
It has been evident for a long while now that the work of the bus driver, here in Malta, is most often taken up by bad tempered, uncivilised, sometimes violent, individuals. The excuse “imma mhux kollha huma hekk” really holds no ground – a good excuse would be “imma kwazi hadd minnhom huma hekk”, which is obviously not the case.
I stopped riding buses years ago, and I’m damn glad I did. I couldn’t stand the undependable hours, the not stopping completely at the stage to let people off, the Maltese swear words emanating from many a bus driver’s mouth, the impatience with tourists, and the general illiteracy of the drivers.
Even today, when I’m driving my car, I still encounter bus drivers who don’t stop at a stop sign, just because they have a big vehicle, and just drive on regardless of any car which could have been proceeding on its way.
I can’t end this post without writing the classic phrase “not all bus drivers are like this”. What a joke.
in the meantime. ADT enforcement is non-existent, their Minister does not want to know, the Police commissioner certainly does not inspire me, and life goes on.
Daphne you are so so so right…………..no norms of civilized behaviour……………..and at the end of the day, our leaders have much to be accountable for, as well.
David Buttigieg Tuesday, 1 July 1040hrs
“It is only in an uncivilised country that a police officer or imitations in this case, would even dream of daring to beat up a defenseless person.”
And the same defensless man pleaded guilty the day after, too.
@Joseph – in-Nazzjonalist
What is an “alleged African man” ?
Sybil, the man who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers did so after he was savagely beaten by those police officers, kept chained to a bench and then driven off in a van, presumably to a cell for the night (and god knows what happened there).
Unfortunately, incidents such as this just give weight to the suspicion that Nicholas Azzopardi was beaten up by the police when under interrogation.
Daphne, you wrote: “Please explain to me why Malta is taking such a long time to reach the basic norms of civilized behaviour.”
‘Such a long time’?! Hello! You’re late by at least a decade. There was a time in Malta, around the late 80s and early 90s, when police brutality came to a virtual standstill (even if the younger generations were being increasingly harassed by the ‘war on drugs’, where all are suspect and cavaty searches are ordained). But since then, we have seen a rise in the robocop mentality. Today Malta follows the rest of Western civilisation towards police statism, not only in legislation, but also in tactics and techniques. In the US, such police atrocities are the order of the day, even for minor violations – search ‘police brutality’ or ‘cops gone mad’ (or something to that effect) on youtube and take it from there.
This tyranny is being imported into Europe. You might some day get to be tased (tazed) yourself for nothing more than a traffic violation and a disrespectful reaction to the demi-god cop. Funny that the land where cops are demi-gods should attract you so much. Manhattan glitter, perhaps? Cloud9, anyone?
To add to the above, here’s an insightful book by Naomi Wolf – “The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot”
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1933392797/ref=pe_606_9727550_pe_ar_t1
Here’s her talk on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjALf12PAWc
This is yet another case where police rapid intervention was inept or non existent.
The police force needs a serious shake up after a large number of semi-illiterate oafs were enlisted in the corps sometimes under political patronage and I am not being partial here.
We read too many stories where persons were lobbed from one police station to the other in a crass pass the bucket game. This new wave of police officers should be taught that they are not in a cushy office job and those found lacking should be kicked out immediately. I get the impression that the police force is becoming indisciplined and irresponsible
@Anonymous & @Sybil
If you are going to share brain at least get one that works!
Anonymous, must you really utter such rubbish? The police have NO RIGHT to use force unless defending themselves or others so PLEASE explain to me what a handcuffed man on the floor can do to 5 vile beasts masquerading as public officers?
Sybil, try, just try using your head even if you get a headache! Even if a suspect is guilty of mass murder he was handcuffed, defenceless and NOT retaliating when those sub-human apes attacked him. May they get their just desserts!
I just can’t understand how this society wants the immigrants to integrate if they keep on being verbally, physically and psychologically attacked. But than, many people just want them to leave this land of the pure…
This is the country were people don’t care if a black is beaten up, they might even cheer. This is the country were people think it’s cool to offend arabs. It’s also the country were people think it’s normal to believe in anti-semitic conspiracy theories. If you want to know how afraid-of-the-different we Maltese are, just go into a restaurant wearing a kippah. If you’re lucky people will just stare. Welcome to Malta…..
Anonymous: You would use that nickname, wouldn’t you? No, it is not legitimate – in the literal sense of the word – to use the kind of ‘force’ that was used in last Friday’s incident. And no, there is no justification for policemen and women to vent their frustrations on civilians. You trip yourself by first attempting to justify the action of the police and then saying that the police need to vent their frustrations. You don’t appear to believe what you say. Maybe that’s why you chose to remain anonymous.
Anonymous: Incidentally, on what grounds do you say “I don’t think that the Paceville incident was incited by the police”? If you were there, then go to the police headquarters and file a report as the other witnesses have done. If you weren’t there, then you’re just guessing that everyone who said otherwise is wrong.
Kev: That’s a very elaborate excuse for the fundamental problem that many people are ignorant enough of their civil rights to believe that someone in uniform is entitled to beat them up at will.
Moderator, you clearly don’t know the first thing about French Police. They don’t carry “revolvers”, but a Sig SP 2022, as does the Gendarmerie. And a punch to the abdomen, as a method for restraining a suspect who refuses to be handcuffed, is allowed both under Police and Gendarmerie rules.
[Moderator – Are you a French policeman? I do know more than I’d like to about French police, because each time I went to France I was hassled by them for the heinous crime of being a foreigner. My impression of them is that they are just as violent and xenophobic as some of the Maltese police.]
Dear Moderator, nobody under the sun and above has the right to use violence on any living creature, being human or non human, so please don’t tell us that this “person is not a dog one can kick in the stomach”. Please remember that some of us are sensitive to animals as well.
[Moderator – So am I. ‘To kick a dog’ is a metaphor for someone who suppresses their frustration, only to vent it on someone weaker.]
@ Chris Borg
You are so right.
A few summers ago, I had staying with me a Jordanian friend of my daughter . He was here for his friend’s wedding. His friend was marrying a Maltese girl. All the Jordanian
guests were highly educated, beautifully mannered and, to use a phrase from this website “tal pepe” in their country.
Yet before he set out for Paceville one evening, I thought I’d better warn him about bouncers in Paceville. Sure
enough, next morning, he told me they were refused entry
from one bar or club and asked to leave another. When he
saw how embarrassed I was and being a gentleman,he said
“Maybe, we were a little noisy”.
I knew damn well it was what the British call ” a touch
of the tar brush” that was at the root of it. The ironic
thing is that, as Daphne had written some years ago,
many of us Maltese are thought to have a touch of this same
brush when we are visiting other countries!
The bus driver and police incidents are so sickening that
unless they are four lettered, words fail me. Anyway so
many of you others have expressed exactly what I feel.
If I may just give an opinion I think you’re mixing two issues here: the bus driver issue is an old one now and I think everyone agrees they don’t act the negative way they do with just irregular immigrants but with maltese and just basic tourists. That’s a seperate issue that needs to be tackled but will never really be. Only the ticket prices increase.
About police misconduct, again I feel you’ve given examples of both when they were like this with maltese and also with foreigners. How can you waste time arguing if beating someone chained is right or wrong? Isn’t it obvious its wrong? But again its something that needs to be kept in perspective with regards to the race issue. I fear that with both the bus drivers and the police issue, we are mixing race in to make it more sensational when its obvious that on various levels, when a bus driver / police is good they are good with maltese, tourists and immigrants and when they are not good, they are also not good with all of those.
@Moderator
[Moderator – Are you a French policeman? I do know more than I’d like to about French police, because each time I went to France I was hassled by them for the heinous crime of being a foreigner. My impression of them is that they are just as violent and xenophobic as some of the Maltese police.]
Your impression is quite correct unfortunately, SOME French can be very nasty when given power – Think about it, Malta had been under foreign rule for hundreds of years without much complaint, the French came here for a couple of months and all hell broke loose!
@roma
you are right, the police can be equally aggressive against maltese as well,
I was once in the airport when I witness a small argument between an airport offical and a french elderly lady who was late for her flight and asking to skip the queue at the boarding gate,
she was suddenly set upon by a group of airport security, one of which punched her relentessly,
this was in front of a large crowd of tourists, including children , who all remained shocked,
when the police finally came to hlep, to my surprise, they ignored the security men who were punching this woman and arrested this old french woman! At this point I came forward and tried to explain what happened, as a witness, and they promptly arrested me! Despite my protestations , since I had an important flight to catch for a job interview, they led me to this room and there were about ten police-men who began interrogating me in a very agggressive and intimidating matter. I asked them to bring the CCTV images so that they could see the incident for themselves, but they refused! What was worse, wile I was queing up for my next flight one of this policemen led this security men to me, and told me “i know where you live” , when I asked what he meant by this he said “nothing, he just want you to know that he knows where you live!”.
I still wrote a police report on the incident for and they promised they would call me to testify in court, guess what, two years later and I still havent heard anything!
Roma, in the police beating, race was definitely a factor. Otherwise, why would the five policemen have headed straight for the black man, letting the Maltese man involved in the argument slip away unnoticed – unless he was one of their friends the bouncers? And what about the racist remark uttered by one policeman who spoke to the young people who were protesting outside the station: “We’re keeping him chained up like that because he might give us a disease.”
Yes, Cikki, isn’t it ironic: a bunch of common chavs, for want of a better expression, looking down on a sophisticated and well-educated Jordanian and refusing him entry to bars, thus denying him the pleasure of their chav company.
Corinne, what does that have to do with what I wrote? What excuse? Try to understand what I write before scribbling.
Daphne, do you really think that bad stuff only happens in Malta? Do you really think that ‘civilised’ countries (your words, not mine!) have it any better? Do you think thugs only exist in Malta? Malta is no more or less ‘civilised’ than your so called civilised nations. It’s just that Malta is so small, that an incident such as this gets national coverage. In the UK, the same kind of incident (and they happen all the time!!) would hardly get a mention in the local press.
I have been to Jordan on business and their manners and treatment of foreigners would honestly puts us to shame. I really recommend visiting.
Kev: I don’t scribble. I write. And I did read what you said. Power can be given as well as taken. As long as people believe that the police have a right to beat up them up, then the police will continue to do so.
Kev: Another thing…high flying grand theories are interesting, but sometimes the ordinary grass roots explanation is much simpler. Read Structure and Agency. You’ll find it interesting.
Corinne, why is it that I get the feeling I’m comunicating with someone stuck in the 80s mentality vis-a-vis Western civilization and civil liberties? And this goes to ‘Moderator’, with all his passé Fukuyama nonsense… and to Daphne, of course, who is only capable of criticising the Maltese bubble she resides in.
I believe you are in a dizzy spell. No flicker will wake you up any time soon – that’s for sure. Watch Naomi Wolf’s talk – it may help you redraw your limited perception – what she says is not far off the mainstream and based on well-established facts. I can assure there’s more to it than what Naomi lays out (and keep in mind that Europe is importing this American tyranny and in turn so is Malta).
Kev: If “this goes” to ‘Moderator’ and to Daphne” then you are addressing the wrong person as I am neither one.
You’re a fine one to talk about limited perceptions. I discovered Naomi Wolf years ago. It seems you two have only just met.
You really do need to get out into the sun. Why not take to the sands of Lilliput for a while? It’ll give your overwrought mind a rest.
It is not just Middle East or African people who get a touch of the tar brush. A few months ago, I accompanied an English friend of mine to a bar in Birkirkara. To my amazement he was refused entry because of his accent and his blond hair. He was dressed decently and well mannered, even showing his Maltese identity card (as he is a permanent resident). But to no avail: No foreigners allowed was the policy.
Corinne, no one asked you to “discover” Naomi Wolf. What I asked you is to check what she says today – it’s for beginners like you. And what applies to Moderator and Daphne also applies to you – the word ‘also’ is missing.
So that does it – for you, it’s the people who are to blame for being ill-informed and subservient… and perhaps the media and people like you who blame the people and excuse the police and the tyrannical laws they apply and misapply.
What can I say – prosit.
Really, Steven? I assume the magic words Rodney King mean nothing to you, then. Well, check this out – and that was 17 years ago, you should have caught up by now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King
Kev, I can’t believe you’ve just discovered Naomi Wolf. She’s really old hat.
Actually, yes, Kevin – people have only themselves to blame if they are ill-formed and subservient. Who or what else is to blame, for heaven’s sake?
Moderator- ok fine it being a metaphor, but it’s just doesn’t sound nice.
Kev: You’re starting to sound like a playground bully. Newsflash: it doesn’t work on me.
Here’s why what you say is a load of tosh: in her book Naomi Wolf does not say anything that hasn’t been said before. Her video’s just a plug to sell more books. I’m surprised that you fell for it.
And Kev: ‘excuse the police’??? *Sigh* you really need to visit Lilliput for a while. Or just stay where you are and broaden and take your grievances elsewhere:
http://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080630/local/more-eyewitnesses-saw-handcuffed-migrants-beaten-by-police
Kev: That was meant to read “broaden your outlook or take your grievances elsewhere” but I guess you worked that one out for yourself.
@ Moderator and David Buttigieg:
First off, let’s not go down the French-bashing road. It’s all too easy for you chaps. Secondly, I’m not a member of the French police force, but the rules for restraining techniques in a non-combat situation are the same for Gendarmerie, Armed Forces and Police personnel.
Now, I know you may be shocked at the “violence” displayed by some members of the Police Corps in this incident. I wasn’t present, and I haven’t seen any official reports (and it’s highly unlikely that I ever will), so I’ll go by the eyewitness descriptions. Many of the techniques which may seem excessively violent to the casual onlooker, are in fact standard operating procedures. To go back to French rules for restraining techniques, the law enforcement officer may even use a baton or a bunch of keys to hit the suspect in the abdomen, if the suspect refuses to be handcuffed. Many a young criminal has discovered this during his court hearing, when he (it’s a he more often than not) tried to bring up the point in his defence.
Of course there’s a fine line between legitimate techniques, and illegal techniques, which could land the officer in jail, even if the suspect is found to be completely guilty (e.g. hitting the kidney area to restrain a suspect is not allowed). In general, wrist, arm and leg locks, and even a hit to the hand with a baton (and we’re talking about a technique which WILL cause injury), for a suspect who refuses to be handcuffed after the third warning, all fall squarely within the rules. Incidentally, French law enforcement officers get flak from both ends of the spectrum, from criminals to the trade unionised judiciary, which prefers to come down on the side of the criminal whenever there’s the slightest doubt. So I’d be wary of making blanket statements about French “xenophobic police”.
I’m not trying to defend anyone here. The Police Corps can defend itself, and I only know what happened by reading The Times’s report. I’m just trying to put things into perspective and to correct some common fallacies. Trial by media is the worst kind of justice, and we tend to have a lot of that in Europe.
By way of an anecdote, I look just like your average North African “racaille”, and I’ve never had any problems with your supposedly xenophobic French law enforcement officers.
Even if you’re completely right, and the police officer is completely wrong, the best course of action is to obey the officer. Then your lawyer can take care of the rest, and sue the hell out of the Police Corps. To resist arrest, however innocent you may be, is to invite trouble.
The state of the Malta police is a legacy from the Montoff era. The president of Malta Dr Fenech Adami was a victim of police brutality, yet whilst holding the office of prime minister he did not sort out the brutal culture from the police. Malta is seriously in need of an independent police complaints board. Most complaints against the police are true, if they are not, the police have the power and means to deal with anyone who makes a false accusation against them, therefore I am always inclined to side with the person making such a complaint.
H. P. Baxxter:
How many of the following are legitimate techniques?
A policeman kicking a person in the abdomen when that person has already been handcuffed and is lying curled up on the ground.
Kicking someone in the foetal position (no access to the abdomen there).
A non policeman kicking a person in the abdomen when that person has already been handcuffed and is surrounded by police.
Beating someone who when that person offers no resistance.
Handcuffing someone in a way that keeps him on his knees.
Slamming a person against a vehicle.
@ Corinne: In Malta or in France? I could go through the Code Déontologique, but it would take time. As far as I know:
1) If the person is handcuffed, not trying to get away, and not causing any trouble, it’s not legitimate.
2) If the person is in the foetal position, but resisting arrest, it could be legitimate. Depends where the kicks are directed, depends on the police officer’s position, depends on lots of things. And remember that using the foot to hit a pressure point (such as the back of the knees) could look like a kick.
3) The non-policeman case: Depends on whether that person’s safety/life was being threatened.
4) Beating someone who offers no resistance: Who is doing the beating? Police officer or civilian? I’d say it is not legitimate.
5) Handcuffing, on knees: Perfectly legitimate.
6) Slamming against vehicle: Depends. It could be the result of the person resisting arrest and trying to move away from the Police officer, in which case the restraining technique could result in the suspect being slammed against the vehicle.
I hope this helps. In any case, I urge everyone to be cautious in judging these events. Things aren’t always what they seem, even if you’re standing just a few metres away from the scene.
(I’ll try to give you a precise answer, from the official sources, for each of your scenarios, but I don’t know if this thread will still be active.)
@ Paul Borg. a legacy of the Mintoff era? So how is it that police used to beat up labourites in the 1960s?
Can you explain to me how and why the police who did beat up nationalists in the 1980s end up being promoted post ’87?
NAd by the way, it wasn’t only Dr Fenech Adami who was “victim of police brutality” (hmmmm when was Eddie beaten up?). Police on horseback tried to attack Mintoff during the Independence Day parade in 1964…they were not successful because labourites gathered around him to serve as a human shield. Yeah, a legcy of the M
(con’d)
* Yeah, a legacy of the Mintoff era. Sure. Sure.
Daphne, I haven’t “just discovered Naomi Wolf” – that was Corinne’s evaluation of the matter. But I do respect her more today. The way she decribes it is simple enough for anyone to follow without crying out “conspiracy theorist”.
And you say people are to blame – okay, but here I believe is the “old hat” way of seeing things. And it’s still true. But perhaps if intellectuals like you, Daphne, could inform them of what really is going on they would be better equipped, not only to know their rights, but also to recognise new legislation that violates those rights and where they’re coming from (hence my asking you to broaden your critique).
@Corinne – First, congrats on your knowing it all, perhaps even more than Naomi herself. But your “surprise” that “I fell for it” says a lot more about you than about me.
Also, you might be mistaking frustration to bullying.
But of course you ppl are always right, given that you twist and distort not only the truth, but also your own imaginations of what others think and do.
So do carry on… veru… x’arukaza l-puluuzzija Maltin… mhux bhal tal-barra, dawk veru fini u grazzjuzi… meta se nitghallmu insiru bhalhom?
H.P. Baxxter – “Beating someone who offers no resistance: Who is doing the beating? Police officer or civilian? I’d say it is not legitimate.”
You’d say so, ej! Let’s give it some more thought shall we? And give us some more sources, please do – your justifications are even more horrendous than the acts themselves. I guess the term ‘minimal use of force’ is an elastic matter, depending on many factors…
@Daphne and Corinne – excuse my error – should read “mistaking frustration for bullying”… and the spelling of ‘cavity’, while we’re at it. We are expected to do this on this blog, right?
H. P. Baxxter: That’s an interesting assessment, especially considering that the scenarios are all drawn from the case you mentioned earlier.
Under what circumstances is being handcuffed in a kneeling position legitimised?
H. P. Baxxter: Please don’t tell me that being sneezed at is justification enough. If that were the case, we’d have to handcuff on their knees everyone who visits the A&E department at Mater Dei Hospital. Now that would put the cat among the pigeons, wouldn’t it?
Kev: I can’t understand your frustration. You seem to want Daphne or I to say here what you are already saying yourself. Isn’t the way you put things not good enough for you or is it simply not persuasive enough?
@Corinne – my frustration is at people like you who change the subject into ‘who met Naomi first’ and ‘Corinne read all about it’ (and still she sees it not), when all I wrote about was the need to expand your critique of the state and their robocops, and see the bigger picture across the Western world, especially imported despotic legislation.
@Kev
My friend, can’t you see these Vella sisters know it all? What do you mean trying to teach them anything? What they haven’t told us as yet is why Mrs Caruana Galizia has her residence guarded by the police 24 hours a day?
[Moderator – Frans, it was only guarded by the police during the run-up to the elections, after someone called in a bomb threat (and don’t forget that the house was successfully firebombed twice before that). And for your information, having the police outside your house is more unsettling than comforting, as it is a constant reminder of the danger that you are in.]
@ Moderator
I totally agree at least on one thing you say:”having the police outside your house is more unsettling than comforting, as it is a constant reminder of the danger that you are in.” Which begs the question: what urges Mrs Cauana Galizia to make so many enemies in life that she has to live in “unsettling” conditions? That IS the question.
[Moderator – Frans, you are thinking like a Labour thug – but I suppose you can’t help it, because the fact that you can’t understand some of basic principles of democracy makes it very clear that you are not as intelligent as you make yourself out to be. Freedom of expression is priceless, and if the police have to guard one house to defend it from people like you, then so be it.]
@ Moderator
Cut the crap. Are you calling me a “Labour thug” who would bomb or set fire to Mrs Caruana Galizia’s residence. Out with it, man (if man you are as you say – Ms Corinne Vella hinted you are not) and say it. I’m waiting.
[Moderator – You are giving the impression that you’d rather the house were bombed. The crap is yours to cut, not mine.]
@ Moderator
You’re still avoiding the question, boy. I will spell it out again, maybe it will get through: Are you calling me a “Labour thug” who would bomb or set fire to Mrs Caruana Galizia’s residence? Answer if you’re half the man you think you are.
[Moderator – It’s you who is giving the impression that you are, not me.]
@ Moderator
So many hours later and you still haven’t answered my question:
Are you calling me a “Labour thug” who would bomb or set fire to Mrs Caruana Galizia’s residence? Can you get yourself together and answer this simple question? You can also tell me where I gave such an impression even though I know this is just an excuse you are desperately looking for. Once again my question is: Are you calling me a “Labour thug” who would bomb or set fire to Mrs Caruana Galizia’s residence?
[Moderator – You sound like one.]
@ Moderator
Re: your limp excuse that I gave you the impression you arbitrarily want to detect in my legitimate response to the endless abusive language coming from Mrs Caruana Galizia, I am still waiting for an answer to my original question.
To recap: Mrs Caruana Galizia has been for donkey’s years attacking a vast assortment of people, some being public figures in which case she easily invokes the usual “fair comment” pretext, others ordinary people who cannot even answer for themselves. Just a few examples to refresh your memory:
She called Dr Mifsud Bonnici and Dr Sant “sociopaths”,
She expressed the wish (in this blog, not in the newspaper where she regularly writes because the editor wisely excised (his words) the abusive wording) “to slap the new MLP leader’s face”! (incredible but true),
Dr Paul Lia “sour faced” – as if looks had anything to do with legal proficiency,
Minister Tonio Borg, all sorts of names conjured up through innuendo and other forms of derision,
Mr Richard Matrenza, “a piece of work” (sic),
the more diligent among her former St Dorothy classmates all kinds of vituperative epithets,
The list goes on and on. Then, out of the blue she viciously turned on the entire readership of the daily newspaper l-orizzont, calling them “ cheap, crass and vulgar”.
Would anyone be surprised if she received the threats she allegedly received? That is what I implied. Now I ask you, how could that be construed as an endorsement on my part of any imaginable kind of the “bomb threats” she allegedly received? But that is not my crucial question, which I will, once again and for the umpteenth time, spell out for you in the most comprehensible fashion:
Are you calling me a “Labour thug” who would bomb or set fire to Mrs Caruana Galizia’s residence?
I am waiting for an answer and warn you not to quibble or waste my time any further. If you choose to equivocate I will drag you before a court of law for slander and you will face the consequences of your uncalled for and malicious behaviour.
I’m waiting.
[Moderator – Frans, having your life threatened and your house firebombed are not natural consequences of speaking your mind – unless you are a Labour thug.]
Frans, your temper is as bad as your novels.
@Frans ‘Little Man’ Sammut,
You are still running from my question – here it is again
“WHO DO YOU SAY WON THE REFERENDUM, MEMBERSHIP OR PARTNERSHIP?”
a few years ago I witnessed a local guy getting punched to the floor by an off duty security guard at paceville’s one time skating rink (there was a food fair at the time).. the guy was paranoid and tried to snatch the guy’s camera. After the man was on the floor, the other guard on duty attempted to kick him and attack him as well….
@ Moderator
You are deliberately putting words in my mouth. See you in court.
[Moderator – I rarely visit the law courts, so the chances of you seeing me there are quite slim. Why don’t you take me out for a romantic dinner instead?]
Frans Sammut: get a life!
@ David Buttigieg. The EU itself sets quota based on voter turn-out when helping non-EU COuntries to organise referenda. For instance, in the referendum which decided the status of Montenegro – i.e. if it had to remain in a federation with Serbia or if it was to become independent – the EU made pressure on the organisers of the referendum so that the “yes” vote would win ONLY if 55% of those voting voted yes. In other countries referenda are invalidated if there is a low voter turn-out.
The EU itself doesn’t agree with your argument, my dear.
And by the way, in 1956/57 the PN said that the Integration Plan had not been accepted by the people, even if the majority of those who voted had voted yes – the reason being that the No Camp had won if you counted those who abstained….
This comment is addressed at those who are sending contradictory messages about the immigration matter.
Maybe I don’t understand everyone very well (Mr Buttigieg, please excuse my inferior IQ), but I have understood from some people here that, where civil rights are concerned, first come the inner circle Gonzian Nats (but excluding passive Nats, Demarchians, Borgolivierians and Dallians), then the immigrants and finally the rest of the Maltese: Labourites, floaters, tal-Muzew etc. Do some people here believe in apartheid? Are Gonzians pro-apartheid while at the same time declaring they are anti-right or is this just an impression?
Correct me if I am wrong, or at least please explain better. Do some people here believe that immigrants should be treated better than most Maltese – as this is the message that one gets? For example, when the police treat an immigrant badly, some in here (just to imitate and agree with the chairwoman of this blog Ms Daphne) make a big noise and they are justified. However, when the police treat a Maltese person badly, most couldn’t care less. It will not be long before we have immigrant policemen, immigrant local council members, immigrant politicians, immigrant civil servants etc.
This is a situation one has to foresee with its positive and negative aspects. If a future immigrant policeman illtreats a Maltese person, will the pro-immigants praise him?
There is also in here the contradiction of cultural affinity. The Maltese usually like Europeans and European culture. Some, however, declare openly that they love African races and cultures more than European cultures. It’s their right.
The lady administering this blog, for example, clearly sends a message that she finds black men particularly handsome and coloured people in general quite sweet. OK, it’s her right to be different from most Maltese – maybe because she is of a dark shade herself. Now let us suppose that Ms Daphne’s three boys all come home with an African lady and eventually marry her. I suppose that Ms Daphne would welcome this situation very gladly and even the fact that she would have several black grandchildren. Just asking – as there is a difference between words and practice.
@Peter Muscat,
Your low IQ explains so much!
@Chris Borg
Ah yes, in the case of Montenegro the EU agreed to set a benchmark of 55% of THOSE VOTING.
In Malta it was 50% which was achieved and how! The EU agrees perfectly with my argument ‘my dear’ as it rushed to congratulate the Maltese people on their decision!
“In other countries referenda are invalidated if there is a low voter turn-out. ” Agreed as happened in 1955/6 in Malta but would you say that there was a low turn out in the EU referendum?
Besides in 1955 the argument was NOT that No won, but that it was invalid due to low voter turnout. Personally I disagree, but then two wrongs don’t make a right!
@ David Buttigieg … your name calling is puerile. May I add that if you had the smallest percentage of my IQ your personal income and your undignified arrogance will be without limit.
@Peter ‘Jo Said’ Muscat
You claimed to have a low IQ not me :) As to my income? Now I know who you REALLY are I really wouldn’t talk if I were you, about income OR IQ :)
Dave I bet you anything you o not have the slightest idea.
With my permission moderator can give you my e-mail address and you can write and I will invite for a dinner in Gozo at my expense.
One Condition .. You publicly apologise for making such a silly mistake of identity. Deal or no deal?
@Peter ‘Jo Saeed’ Muscat,
Thank you but I can buy my own dinner:) Even if I dined alone the company would be much better!
The fact you have a fixed ip confirms Daphne’s statement
Frans Sammut – GET A LIFE and stop speaking from your Axx.
@ Dave Buttigieg … If Daphne ever checks as I asked her to do and apologise for her mistake prepare yourself for the biggest shock of your life.This might be a bit difficult for you to understand.
The fact that I have a fixed IP ( something I made public here two months) confirms that our dear Daphne made a mistake and I am waiting for a public apology from her, for her wrong assumptions . If she does not publicly apologise I will certainly print in here my MALTANET IP so you and all others can check with all liberty.
I do understand that your best converstation are with yourself. Keep it up. the more you open your mouth the more you enlighten us.Finally I am happy for you that you can buy your own dinner.lol
Re: Peter Muscat “If she does not publicly apologise I will
certainly….”
Daph, I thought he was going to say “take her to court”!
Wouldn’t that have been amusing!
@Peter ‘Jo Saeed’ Muscat,
The biggest shock in my life was discovering there are people like you running around without a strait jacket and medication:)
@ David Buttigieg …. Told you many times not to jump to any silly conclusions. You might be very sorry later.I simply hope you are a very very distant relative.Was dying to send you this message which I hope you might understand.
hehehehe
[email protected] if you can’t …..
cikki .. You thought wrong.Never been to court except as a witness. Also please note that I have all respect towards Daphne and evryone else, including you.
@Peter ‘Jo Saeed’ Muscat,
Wow, that’s your e-mail – oh my, oh dear, how wrong we were!
Yeah right :)
no David, in 1956 PN’s argument was that No won. Yes the turnout was low but than from those who did vote, a big majority had voted yes (over 75% of valid votes). And this despite the fact that the catholic church and all other conservative forces, such as the Times of Malta, had campaigned against the integration plan.
as regards the thressholds, the point is that a referndum is not valid even if 1 person goes to vote, as PN used to say regarding the 2003 referendum.
@ Dave Buttigieg …. Have courage my dear distant relative and as I promised you be surprised!
Food for thought!
Frans Sammut: Looking back through a week’s worth of comments, I notice you’re enjoying a attention boost here so let me oblige you further by giving you a little more of what you fancy.
I think you’ve read too much Enid Blyton and Jane Austen. Expressions like ‘by golly’ and ‘crikey’ sound juvenile and irrelevant, as does the expression ‘cor, blimey’ when used outside the Beano and Dandy. As for ‘move on, fellow’, what can I say except that the mental image those words convey is of someone whose breeches are too tight and an few hundred years out of date?
Kev(in Ellul Bonici): “my frustration is at people like you”
No, your frustration is at your inability to set the agenda here. If no one here’s picking up your message, then you really should get the message – start up your own blog on the subject elsewhere.
Frans Sammut – Calling Richard Matrenza “a piece of work” is a very mild comment. I could come up with far, far worse, and with good reason too.
@Amanda,
I agree with you on Matrenza 100 %. Look who we had representing Malta!!!
Amanda, Matrenza may not have been any gereat shakes, but compared to his successor (Bonello Du Puis), he was an absolute star!
..not to mention our Ref! Him of the ice-cream debacle.
What is it about the choice of people for the Malta High Commission?
we seem to think its a soft option and a done deal, because we have a friend in Britain. So we send a lame duck.
We should follow the British example who send the best people to the states. Forget our colonial history, making sure that Britain is ready to help out in the hour of need takes years of diplomacy.
More importantly it takes an astute understanding of the nefarious ways of the British ruling class, never to be underestimated and a wolf in sheep’s clothing if ever there was one.
Ganni Borg: Rubbish. George Bonello Du Puis has good manners.
Ganni Borg – George Bonellu Du Puis and Michael Refalo after him have both got impeccable manners and know their place. The fact that they both come from a good background is simply a bonus, which in itself also has an influence on the other two “plus-points” (not that one can’t exist without the other).
Unfortunately, somebody else lacked in all such areas. Please don’t open a can of worms.
CAn i suggest Blackwater be awarded a contract for policing and military duties in Malta
Amanda, you may br right abour Refalo, but DuPuis is a crass clown. Would you like to borrow my tin-opener?
Ganni Borg – No thank you. Flashbacks of the bearded one will definitely ruin my sleep. Now if you are who I think you are, you know exactly what I am talking about, so we’d better not start on the subject.
Ganni Borg – As for Bonello Du Puis, that is entirely a matter of opinion. As I have already said, both Refalo and Bonello Du Puis have impeccable manners and both most certainly know their place. Breeding usually will out, as it has done in the Matrenza’s case on various occasions, though I wouldn’t expect people of the same ilk to notice such instances.
I see that during my absence Frans Sammut has demanded to know, several times, why there have occasionally been policemen outside my door. Perhaps he thinks I should carry a gun in my bag instead, like his son Mark Anthony, who explained to the police when he was caught trying to board a plane with it (imagine, trying to go through airport security with a gun) that he was feeling threatened. Perhaps I should do what Frans has been doing here, and ask repeatedly why his son carried a gun? Who was threatening him? What was/is his problem? Come on, Frans – we’re dying to know.
Oh by the way, Frans Sammut: I have one of your great works sitting permanently on my desk. I’m looking at it now – ALFRED SANT, IL-VIZJONI GHALL-BIDLA, MINN FRANS SAMMUT, mahrug mid-dipartiment tat-Taghrif, Partit Laburista, 2008, dedikat lil Josephine Sant, li qlubitha ntirtet minn binha. God, what a brown-noser!
For the benefit of those who don’t have access to your stupendous works, I’ll quote a bit here and there:
“Lil Alfred Sant ili nafu aktar minn 40 sena u l-aktar haga li dejjem ghoozejt fih hija l-umanita tieghu. Huwa bniedem intellettwali mill-kbar – zgur li wiehed mill-aqwa intellettwali li ghandna hawn Malta…..Xejra ohra fil-karattru tieghu hija s-sahha fizika li mhux soltu ssibha fin-nies intellettwali.”
That’s it. I can’t go on. It’s truly sick-making hagiography, and what’s worse is the poor writing. Poor Frans can’t distinguish between the ability to write in Maltese and the ability to write, full stop. He thinks that because his Maltese is good, then it must follow that his writing is good, too. Yet his writing is as bad in Maltese as it is in the English examples posted above: crass and wooden. And the reason he can’t stand me is because I’m the only one who’s told him the truth about the poverty of his output. Well, what can I say? This is a man who thinks that Alfred Sant’s impressive physical health (and remember, he wrote this about a man with cancer) is an aspect of his character. Go figure. They tell me he’s a schoolmaster. I hope he doesn’t teach biology.
Unbelievable but true: Frans Sammut thinks that it’s unusual for intellectuals to be physically strong. Why – because people are not allowed to have both brains and physical strength? Next thing he’ll be telling us that it’s unusual for clever people to be physically attractive. Fortunately, he doesn’t have any problems squaring that one with the reality of Alfred Sant, or himself for that matter.
Oh, and Sammut, please remember that you’re only here because I allow you to be. I could just as easily instruct the moderator to delete any comments that come in from Frans Sammut or his IP address. I don’t because unlike you I am not Old Labour, and so I don’t mind the occasional hysterical demonstrator at my gate, no matter how annoying he might be. I don’t feel the need to bring out the tanks or the shipyard workers.
And because you come across so determinedly as an ill-bred boor, I feel the need to explain to you that you are in the ill-mannered position of using my own blog to threaten and insult me, which is the equivalent of ringing me at home to hurl abuse and threats down the line, in which case I would slam down the receiver. I am not cutting you off here for the simple reason that the forum is public, viewed by thousands, and it delights me to know that you have voluntarily placed yourself in the public stocks and made yourself utterly ridiculous before such a wide audience.
Another thing: your books are not just bad. They are beyond awful. The fact that you can’t see this speaks volumes about your intellect. You are fortunate that the only people who can judge your sub-standard novels for what they are worth are those who can read Maltese. If they were written in English, you would be exposed to far wider criticism and forced out of denial. I have yet to see anyone reading a Frans Sammut for pleasure, and if they do, you can be sure that it’s because they can’t read English (or any other language for that matter) and so don’t have access to anything better.
Yes, I am bilingual, and this is a good place to point out that my Maltese is much better than your English, because it is contemporary and idiomatic, which your English is not. I imagine you subscribe to the Labour-generated myth that I don’t speak or understand Maltese, which runs parallel to that other Labour-generated myth that claims I look like a witch. Both myths are so much believed by Labour ghouls that when Jason Micallef first clapped eyes on me he decided that I must have had extensive plastic surgery because I am actually quite easy on the eye, and famously made a fool of himself by saying so on prime-time television.
Something else, Sammut – you don’t need ‘professional qualifications’ to work as a journalist. You just need to be good at the job. What use a degree in journalism if your writing is as bad as Frans Sammut’s and you don’t have the right instinct for a story? Don’t confuse journalism with the professions that require warrants to practise (architects, dentists, doctors, lawyers). I imagine that, because you seem not to understand the niceties of freedom of expression, you are one of those people who believe that journalists should be suitably qualified, approved by a board of persons such as yourself, and given a warrant (which can then be withdrawn).
I have observed that when people have an inferiority complex of some sort, or feel inadequate in some department, they bang on and on and on about their intellectual accomplishments, their academic achievements, and the letters after their name. Oddly, I have yet to meet a tall, beautiful (or handsome) person from the kind of background that you would scathingly refer to as tal-pepe, who has this kind of hang-up. It’s not because tall, good-looking tal-pepe people are intellectually challenged, but because they don’t feel they have to use their ‘dikris’ to make up for a perceived inadequancy elsewhere. In short, Sammut, if you had been born tall, handsome and tal-pepe, you wouldn’t be the seething mass of grudges you are today, trying to prove yourself by deploying your less than impressive intellect, and snapping like an irritating terrier at my heels because my very existence presses all your resentment buttons.
Welcome back, Daph! Hilarious! (Not worth losing any sleep over such a pathetic person, though.)
“Breeding will out” – what are we talking here, horses or dogs? What a Victorian comment!
Dear Amanda and Daphne
Can you enumerate Frans Sammut’s works?
Which are those you have read and don’t like, and why?
John (Ganni) Borg
A technical question – how does one find a post put up a couple of days ago when it is no longer on the board and one cannot remember the name of the topic or the category?
I don’t want MikeC to think I ama neglecting him. :)
Ganni Borg: ask Edward Mallia. I’m sure he’ll help. And Frans Sammut might have some ideas. Otherwise do what the rest of us do, and take a note of the threads you’re following.
@Ganni Borg Sunday re 20 July 2037hrs
““Breeding will out” – what are we talking here, horses or dogs? What a Victorian comment!”
Good manners and good behaviour are not restricted by any era, but are an essential part of any society. But then again, what would people like you know about it?
Ganni Borg – It looks like I touched a sore point mentioning that ill-mannered bearded friend of yours.
@Daphne
“Otherwise do what the rest of us do, and take a note of the threads you’re following.”
Don’t forget you are speaking to someone with a hard-core labour mentality – they expect everything served on a plate without working for it:)
@Daphne,
And why did you scare off the little man? He was so amusing!
David Buttigieg – Rest assured that he was not “scared off”, but is probably lurking quietly on the blog, as are many others who claim not to read it …
David, I think it was the mention of Mark-Anthony ‘Is that a gun in your handbag, or are you just pleased to see me?’ Sammut. A 19-year-old son who tells the Super One cameraman and that toby-jug Kurt Farrugia of Maltastar.com to fuck off when they’re bothering his mother pales into insignificance next to a fat, strange, weird son in his 30s who acts as notary in Alfred Sant’s public charade in the Phoenicia ballroom in 2003 – signing the patt mal-poplu – and who tries to board a plane with a gun in his handbag, telling security men that he has to have it because he is being threatened…by what or whom?! And then there’s that other son Jean-Pierre, who belongs to a series of odd associations, and who wears his long hair in middle-age wrapped around his fat face – not to be rude and offensive (surely I can be forgiven for being rude and offensive to somebody who is so rude and offensive himself), but…..
One can only wonder what sort of “cultural advice” was given! I shudder to think!
@David
Yeah, you’re right David! One can only wonder…
It is a strange world we live in… and truth sometimes is stranger than fiction…
Who know what made this man, Sammut Jnr I mean, do such a thing…?
@ Amanda
Amanda, I would still like to know which novels of Frans Sammut you didn’t like, and why.
I ask you because I’d like to compare notes.
John Ph Borg – If you really want to know, I don’t appreciate Maltese literature in the least, always picturing it as being written by tedious men with nothing better to do, and who fancy themselves as Malta’s answer to Shakespeare or Milton.
Maybe it’s all thanks to the Maltese “literature” which was foisted on us at school, or the Maltese poetry by the then President (one of which – seriously – consisted SOLELY of the words “Sodda ta’ tnejn, mifruxa ta’ xejn”), which was also foisted on us at the same time (at the age of 12, if you please).
The truth is that, to me, Maltese literature is simply … BORING. Even my children’s Maltese schoolbooks cater for children with a particular mentality, assuming that life is centred round il-loghob tan-nar, il-banda, il-muzew, il-festa, etc, etc.
Each to his own, fine. But if you want to interest others in the subject, then you’ve got to drop the chip off your shoulder, diversify, and accept the fact that not everybody appreciates the same thing. (Oh, and whilst doing so, please understand that “Nokklasafra” doesn’t quite sound like “Goldilocks”, just as “Il-Qattus fl-Istivali” isn’t quite the same as “Puss in Boots”, no matter how much one tries…)
Dear Amanda
I appreciate your honest reply.
From which I can only conclude that you base your opinions on preconceived ideas, not on actual knowledge.
Thanks and regards.
Dear Amanda
If you read Frans Sammut’s Il-Gagga, you will find that the novel’s protagonist, Fredu Gambin, feels that Malta is a cage, and wants to leave, for the very same reasons you mention as being the reasons which make you dislike Maltese literature. He can’t take it any more… This is very ironic. Frans Sammut and you share the same world-view!
LOL
John Ph Borg (Ganni Borg) – If Frans Sammut’s “novels” are as well-written and as enticing as his contributions to this blog, then Maltese literature in general (with him being a prize-winner) must be in a real piteous state.
John Ph Borg (Ganni Borg) – “Frans Sammut and you share the same world-view!”
Are you reasoning with your brain or with your nether region?
It’s interesting how the Vella-cum-Caruana Galizia-cum-Mallia sisters have exactly the same view on absolutely everything. And then they say family values in Malta are being lost!
The sisters have now trained their cross-hairs at Maltese literature. “It” is boring. As if one has read absolutely EVERYTHING in Maltese literature and can reach that conclusion! I suggest the sisters read “Leli ta’ Haz-Zghir”, for example. Or the Ebejer works. Or “Il-Jien u lil hinn minnu” by Dun Karm. Or “Is-Salib tal-Fidda”. To name but a few classics. And I really dont understand how an intelligent person can ridicule the Buttigieg poem in which the poet reflects on the loss of his wife. But then again, it takes all sorts.
I must admit, however, that Maltese literature has lost a lot of its vigour in the last decades. Hmm…the last decades…interesting. Now what could the reason be…..
Albert Farrugia – My sisters and I (and you have yet to discover the 4th one!) share the same views because we were brought up the same way, and thus have the ability to make judgements of our own, as opposed to accepting ones foisted on us.
As for the rest of your comment …
Oooooh, the title “Leli ta’ Haz-Zghir” sounds extremely exciting. Please tell me where I could find a copy. Pleeeeease!
Having been very familiar with the sight of Frans Ebejer around Allies’ Bar at the Ferries in my childhood, I would refrain from reading his works. Somehow, the vision of him and his sometimes rather fancy attire would obscure any possible enjoyment to be derived from reading his works, no matter how hard I’d try.
Dun Karm? Priests entice me even less, no matter how wonderful their works may be.
Is-Salib tal-Fidda? My oh my! We had that foisted on us at school, too, with the sequel – “Is-Salib tad-Deheb” – as a bonus for finishing the first. Please don’t remind me.
“Sodda ta’ tnejn mifruxa ta’ xejn”? You can imagine the sort of reaction it generated in a class of 12-year-old girls at a convent, with the teacher trying to explain the poem to us without mentioning sex. There were actually some wicked girls who’d pretend they didn’t understand, simply to make her blush more than she normally would. Yes, that poem was a great source of entertainment for many a class of wicked 12-year-olds. Why should they appreciate it, anyway? (You have also got to appreciate that when I was 12, in 1979, it was still at the height of the bad old Labour days, giving us a better impetus to reject anything that embodied Labour, and Buttigieg was very much so.)
As for your ending innuendo about Maltese literature losng a lot of its vigour … Vigour? Did you really say vigour? You must lead a very drab life. Poor man.
Dear Amanda
I really suggest you read Il-Gagga, and then, and only then, express a view.
Otherwise, you give the impression that you’re like those people who express opinions about others based on their own preconceived ideas.
Does “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” ring a bell? It was a beautiful film, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, about the re-examination of preconceived ideas…
I would be really interested to learn your reaction to Il-Gagga. It deals with the conflict of Fredu Gambin (the protagonist) with the stifling Maltese society of the 1960s. Perhaps, were the novel to be written in our own times, the protagonist would have reacted to other aspects of Maltese society which make it eligible to be called “the cage”. Although Malta may have changed at the surface, in reality the insularity, the provincial nature, the petty mentality of many of her inhabitants, and the geographical smallness create a human environment which can stifle the more intelligent among her inhabitants.
Amanda, you do give the impression that you are intelligent, and that you feel stifled by certain aspects of Maltese society. At least, that is what I can conclude from your many (insightful) contributions to this blog [that I’m thinking with my nether parts is not insightful… though I like the pseudo-offensive humour…].
I would therefore not be surprised if, after reading Il-Gagga, you’d tend to appreciate its critique of Maltese society, and perhaps subscribe (openly) to the thesis the author proffers to the intelligent reader.
I’m sure you can take this challenge in your stride. I’m quite interested in what you’d have to say upon an intelligent and intellectually honest reading of Il-Gagga.
Three days have passed, and Amanda hasn’t replied.
Somewhere, Amanda or one of her sisters said they were bred alike, and therefore think alike. If this is true, then Amanda’s behaviour is typical of the Vella Sisters’ behaviour.
How is Amanda behaving herself?
When it comes to expressing opinions based on preconceptions, she’s there to drive her point home.
When someone invites her to a civilized conversation on something intellectual, she disappears.
Any further comment would be superfluous.
@John Ph. Borg (a.k.a ???)
“I would therefore not be surprised if, after reading Il-Gagga, you’d tend to appreciate its critique of Maltese society, and perhaps subscribe (openly) to the thesis the author proffers to the intelligent reader.”
Intelligent readers would never be reading the little man’s so called books!
“When someone invites her to a civilized conversation on something intellectual, she disappears.”
Intellectual??
“John Ph Borg” – If you really want to know, your “chat-up line” was rather uninviting. (Plus I’m not one for “civilised converstations” with people I don’t know, and thus don’t give two hoots about.)
John Ph Borg – U jekk joghgbok, tindirizzanix bhala “Amanda”, ghax qatt ma’ kilt il-kirxa mieghek. Grazzi.
Dear David
I thought that having been educated at St Edward’s – a school I respect – you would have been more open-minded. It’s a pity. I don’t know what your job is, but if it requires an open mind, you must be a disappointment for your boss/colleagues/clients. It is really a pity.
Dear Mrs Mallia
Please do accept my sincere apologies for calling you Amanda. I hadn’t realized you were so sensitive. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.
(Please don’t get offended, but “ma” used in the negative does not have the apostrophe. It is “with” (ma’) that has the apostrophe. I hate correcting people, but I’m just doing it for your cultural accretion.)
You state that you don’t give two hoots about people you don’t know. Using the same logic, why do you expect others to give consideration to your views, if very few people outside your social circle know you?
Regards
John Ph. Borg
Dear Mrs Mallia
Come to think of it, your comment (i.e. that you don’t entertain civilized conversations with people you don’t know, and therefore don’t give two hoots about)reveals a veritable mess in the way you see things.
Let’s try to shed some light.
This is a blog. In the (virtual) world, there are two types of blog: private or public. This particular blog seems to fall in the latter category.
Being open to the public, this blog is open also to people one doesn’t know.
Using the blog implies an implicit acceptance of these fundamental facts.
So, viewed in this light, your assertion seems to lead to the following conclusions.
1. You are on this (public, or open to the public) blog, but do not intend to exchange civilized comments with the other users. If this is the case, I would think that the moderator should intervene. Unless, of course, it is the ethos of this blog to be uncivilized.
2. You are on this (open to the public) blog, but wish to discriminate between users. With those who belong to your own, restricted social circle you wish to exchange civilized views. With the others – about whom you don’t give two hoots – you only wish to exchange uncivilized views. Well, at least, you’re woman enough to admit it openly.
3. You do not really mean what you said, but just said it to avoid a direct confrontation of a level to which you are not used, and therefore wish to avoid a useless humiliation. This is perfectly understandable, and at least – once again – you are woman enough to admit your (intellectual) limitations.
Whichever is the case, I fail to understand why you think so highly of yourself. I should be grateful if you were to elucidate this highly interesting matter.
Hope you have a nice weekend. Mine (in part thanks to your replies) will be fantastic! :D
Regards
John Ph. Borg
For the record, I’d like to point out to all guests on this blog that I am not “Ganni Borg”, who also contributes to this blog.
The moderator can easily confirm this – by looking at our individual numbers. (He has unmasked people using more than one “name” in the past – so he can easily confirm that I’m not “Ganni Borg”.)
John Ph Borg – If you are who I think you are, then you would know that I don’t give two hoots about what people think about me, less so what they think about what I do or say.
Dear Mrs Mallia
Who do you think I am?? :)
Anyway: I was genuinely interested in your views on Il-Gagga.
As I said, you seem pretty intelligent, though somewhat prejudiced.
It would have been nice to entertain an intelligent conversation with an intelligent lady.
All the best
John Ph. Borg
Apparently, the best way to make the Vella Sisters shut up is being polite to them. Polite conversation seems to have a particular effect on them! Could it be their upbringing?? :)