Deliver us from the GWU and Labour – PLEASE
These corpses are just acting, says Tony Zarb's newspaper
The General Workers Union, after issuing a statement calling on Libyans to go back home and stop making trouble because Maltese people will lose their jobs there, has now surpassed itself in delusion and whoring itself to Gaddafi and the Labour Party.
This is one of the top stories in its newspaper, L-Orizzont, today.
Waslu aktar Maltin u barranin mil-Libja:
CNN u Al Jazeera qed jagħmlu ħsara kbira – ħaddiem Malti
minn John Pisani
Ilbieraħ komplew jaslu Malta aktar Maltin u barranin mil-Libja wara l-inkwiet li nqala’ fil-pajjiż u l-protesti kontra l-Mexxej Libjan Muammar Gaddafi. Iżda filwaqt li xi midja internazzjonali qegħdin jgħidu li fil-Kapitali Tripli hemm l-inkwiet, ħaddiem Malti qalilna li s-CNN u l-Al Jazeera qegħdin jagħmlu ħafna ħsara għax mhux veru li hemm l-inkwiet.
“Is-sitwazzjoni fi Tripli hija tajba ħafna u naħseb li s’għada jkun kollox normali. Naħseb li minn għada se jerġgħu jmorru għal ħajja tajba,” qalilna Mario Micallef li kien ilu l-Libja fuq xogħol ta’ kostruzzjoni għal dawn l-aħħar seba’ ġimgħat. Wara li ġie milqugħ minn martu u ibnu, Micallef qal lil l-orizzont li Gaddafi se jibqa’ jmexxi u m’hemm xejn minn dak li qegħdin jaħsbu ħafna nies. Hu qal li la ra ajruplani, la ħelikopters u lanqas kanuni u l-midja qiegħda tagħmel ħafna ħsara, l-aktar is-CNN u l-Al Jazeera. “Imisshom jistħu,” saħaq Micallef.
Spirtu, santu, amen. In translation, with nothing lost:
More Maltese and foreigners arrive from Libya
“CNN and Al Jazeera are causing a lot of harm” – Maltese worker
by John Pisani
Yesterday, Maltese and foreigners continued to arrive from Libya after trouble broke out in the country, with protests against the Leader Muammar Gaddafi. Though some international media say that in the capital, Tripoli, there is cause for concern, a Maltese worker told us that CNN and Al Jazeera are causing a great deal of damage because it is not true that there is trouble there.
“The situation in Tripoli is very good and I think that by tomorrow everything will be back to normal. I think that from tomorrow they will go back to the good life (they had before),” Mario Micallef, who was in Libya for the last seven weeks working in construction, told us. After being welcomed by his wife and son, Micallef told L-Orizzont that Gaddafi will carry on running the country and none of what people think is happening is true. He said that he saw no planes, helicopters or heavy guns, and the media are doing a great deal of harm, especially CNN and Al Jazeera. “They should be ashamed,” he said.
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Shame on this Micallef guy – he is probably scared that should Gaddafi regain power and control, he will be punished for admitting that there is turmoil in Libya.
Shame also on that nun who appeared on PBS a couple of days ago, coming from Benghazi, claiming that she did not see anything. Dritt il-genna sejra, sister.
In all fairness, at the time the two above gave a comment to PBS, the situation in Tripoli was rather calm and there were no reports of any rampages or mass shootings.
Only yesterday it was reported that so many were killed that dead bodies were strewn all over and that they were removed to side-streets!
I am sure that both Micallef and the nun regret their comments after they see and hear what has happened since.
[Daphne – Don’t be too sure they give a damn.]
I fail to understand your comment. What right do you have to judge what other persons saw or did not see? If these persons did not see any trouble in Libya, they have a right to say so. If on the other hand they are afraid to say they saw some trouble, we should respect their feelings.
[Daphne – Toddle off and drink some Nescafe if you’re only here to pick bones and score points while missing the bigger picture and failing to join in the debate. Isn’t there anyone to play with on your own blog? Il-vera antipatija ta’ bniedem.]
Reminds me of black pots and kettles …
So the words of condemnation from the world’s political leaders; the defection of Libyan diplomats, ministers and members of the army; the hundreds of videos and tweets posted on the internet; the urgent meetings of the UN security and human rights councils; the freezing of assets by the Switzerland government; the liberation of the eastern part of Libya; and all of the stuff I’ve seen on the international media are all just hallucinations? Damn, I must be drinking too much Nescafe.
One cannot blame Mario Micallef as most probably he depends on his job in Libya. I can understand, somehow, but that nun’s comments are unbelievable and unacceptable.
The nun: the orphanage where she works as a volunteer is across the street from Gaddafi’s bunker/palace.
She said that they stayed locked inside the convent and I would not be surprised that she did not hear or see anything, for the simple reason that if she did :
1) the closely guarded Gaddafi’s palace would be under attack;
2) the road from the palace to the airport is kept ‘clear’ by the regime for Gaddafi;
3) trouble started on the outskirts of Tripoli;
4) her mother superior stayed on; either because she feels relatively safe or she’s being kept hostage.
I believe her. This is not Malta we’re talking about. This is Tripoli. Some sectors of Tripoli were under ‘control’.
To give an example, when there was all that trouble at Tal-Barrani here in 1986, what would a nun in a convent in Mdina have been able to say she saw?
As far as the GWU is concerned the over-riding consideration is that Ghaddafi has promised 500 dinars (approximately $400) to every Libyan family and a 150% salary increase to some public officers. A few thousand slaughtered native workers and students would be considered a fair price in exchange.
“The situation in Tripoli is very good and I think that by tomorrow everything will be back to normal. I think that from tomorrow they will go back to the good life”.
So what the f*ck is he doing here?
I was seeing some interviews with the Maltese coming back from Libya during the evening news on PBS yesterday. It was disgusting.
So why the hell did Mario Micallef leave Tripoli if everything is normal. According to him the airport in Tripoli is also working normally. U hallina.
I watched the first part of all Maltese news bulletins last night, One, Net and TVM. Almost all the persons they interviewed returning from Tripoli said the same thing, i.e. that they saw nothing.
[Daphne – Ma jmurx itellghuhom xhud.]
I also saw a couple interviewed on the BBC who:commented in a similar fashion. This is possibly because Tripoli is still firmly on Gaddafi’s control and people there are too scared to protest after what happened in the east.
Why did this “worker’ come back to Malta if there is no trouble in Tripoli?
Worker? There were one or two who said that they were there on holiday.
Maybe he thinks Tripoli is the same size as Hal Tarxien.
Why does Micallef’s word carry more weight than that of the thousands who have left, are trying to leave or are stuck in some god forsaken area and are desperate to get out?
@John my thoughts exactly. One guy on PBS news was very dismissive about it saying that it all a load of rubbish. Maybe they were living in never-never land and not Libya.
Is-Sur Micallef messu baqa l-Libja u mhux gie lura lejn Malta jekk skond kliemu “Is-sitwazzjoni fi Tripli hija tajba ħafna u naħseb li s’għada jkun kollox normali. Naħseb li minn għada se jerġgħu jmorru għal ħajja tajba.”
To Mr. Micallef and all those who are saying that there is no trouble in Libya, I say: why did you return to Malta ?
I have just met an aquaintance who has been working deep in the Libyan desert for thirty years.
He got back to Malta yesterday after a horrendous ordeal lasting 72 hours.
His succinct analysis loosely translated from Maltese :
“It is a veritable massacre. There are corpses everywhere. He has lost it completely. Unless they go in for him he is going to murder everybody. So far they say ten thousand have been eliminated.”
Yes, of course the footage we are seeing on all stations is still warm from the studios of Hollywood…
Who said there are no cabbages around?
Shame on you, Mario Micallef, for all your lies and untruths. Shame on you, John Pisani, for lying when you personally know that civil war is on in Libya. Shame on you both, as well as your rotten newspaper full of incitement and lies.
Micallef must have been drinking that special Nescafe blend meant for the protesters.
If all is fine in Libya then why on earth did Mr Micallef leave?
“some international media say that in the capital, Tripoli, there is cause for concern”
Really?
Shame on this laghqi Mario Micallef and the other lackey, Chris Fenech, quoted by The Times. Why did they bother to return here if all is OK there? Isthu. Soon you will regret having said that because you will realise that you did the opposite of standing up to be counted. You remind me of the Borg Pisani episode.
If that is so, why didn’t this Micallef guy stay there?
Mhux hekk. L’aqwa li jpappiha hu. X’ghala ghajnu mill-Libjani.
Kemm qeghdin tajjeb. Il-PL u l-GWU jibqghu jilaghqu u jkunu servili, qishom kelb tal-but. M’ghandomx kuragg jghidu li zbaljaw, izda jwahhlu f’dik u dak.
Kif trid tara x’inhu jigri s-sister – dik mhux maghluqa go kunvent kienet?
So why didn’t he remain there if everything is quiet ?
And here is the real news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12576606
We will never get a clear picture. We will never know the truth.
All we will know and judge is that our government did its best to make sure all Maltese got out safe.
And your point is….?
I must have been in a completely different city.
Yes, I watched this wierdo on TVM yesterday and just could not believe my ears. Why didn’t he stay there, then?
He is probably one of those who longs for the lost Golden Years.
It seems that while we in Malta are seeing all the atrocities via television, our compatriots returning from Libya seem to have seen or heard nothing. Are they still possessed by the fear of Gaddafi? Three monkeys attitude.
More from that article:
“Malti ieħor, Martin Galea, qal li sfortunatament ma sabx l-għajnuna mixtieqa mill-Ambaxxata Maltija u kien l-Uffiċċ ju tal-Commonwealth Ingliż li għenu biex jagħmel l-arran ġamenti biex jiġi lura. Hu qal ukoll li s-sitwazzjoni mhix daqs hekk gravi daqskemm tid her fuq it-televiżjoni. Galea qal li vera kien hemm xi spa rar imma dan kien fl-ajru u mhux lejn in-nies.”
Sparar fl-ajru? Lejn il-hammiem?
That was me who commented. I said that to specify what I saw.
Although the principle of “what goes up must come down” must apply, in that anybody might have been injured by a stray round, I was only trying to say that the trigger-happy morons were at least not firing directly at people – at least, not at the airport.
Seems that whatever newspaper you’re referring to missed the rest of what I said, especially about the chaos, the beatings, the bribes necessary etc. Pity that they only mentioned the bits which they considered non-offensive to the Libyan government, and detrimental to the Maltese one.
Actually, I am most definitely not in denial, and can honestly state that I think Libya is in a state of civil war.
I was hijacked by the military, had my two vehicles stolen, then was almost shot by the same soldiers, who said that we were illegally gathered. I had to bribe people to get to Misurata, where they are charging 100 dinars a head for taxi rides, then had to shelter in a house overnight to avoid all the pro Ghaddafi, trigger-happy demonstrations, and then after being beaten up three times at the airport, bribe my way through, and spend 12 hours waiting for the flight to arrive, which we had no idea about, because contrary to what was promised, the charge d’affaires never came back so we were left in the dark as to what was going on.
Still saying I’m in denial? Listen to what I said on CNN, and you can see that they showed almost all of what I said, which is a hell of a lot more than what this newspaper chose to report.
In addition, I can only speak of what I saw personally, and can vouch for just that. If I said something which might be taken to mean that I am denying what is happening in Libya, then please put it down to the fact that I had had no more than two hours’ sleep in the previous 72 hours, and my only thought was to get my sorry arse home, have a shower, and get some sleep.
Mr Galea, you should sue L-Orizzont!
And do you really think that it would make any difference to their spin? They really try to get political mileage of everything don’t they? I just read the article,and I can’t believe that what I said was twisted so much out of context.
Should Ms Caruana Galizia wish to know more, I can give times, places and names regarding all that happened to me, including what I consider to be second information, such as regarding people shot in streets, the massacre this afternoon just off Green Square, friends beaten up, etc.
I know also for example that due to the immense rise in vehicle thefts from oil rigs, all vehicle starter motors in the Sirte area (haven’t heard anything regarding other areas) have been removed and buried in the desert, before complete crew evacuation.
No movement is allowed out of the desert at the moment, and people are being turned back with no hope of extraction. I know this because I am in constant contact with the people still out there, Waha oil field had vehicles stolen, the hangar burnt, together with the aircraft inside, and some accommodation burnt down, so that workers could escape. I honestly saw no bodies on the streets, but this absolutely does not mean that it has not happened.
I was actually specifically asked about the situation at the airport, to which I answered as fully as possible, and the rest regarding the hijack, and the run for the airport was added in by myself.
I live just up the road from Ms Caruana Galizia, so am available should she wish to ask me anything about what I know, so an email can have me down there in two minutes.
If Mr. Micallef stated that “the situation in Tripoli is very good and I think that by tomorrow everything will be back to normal. I think that from tomorrow they will go back to the good life (they had before)” why did he come back?
Biex qed tistghagbu? Dawn jichdu dak li kien jigri f’Malta fi zmienhom, affarijiet li konna naraw u nghixuhom. Se jiddejqu jichdu dak li qed isehh barra minn xtutna?
on thursday i was watching the news on pbs and ruth amaira said the same thing, imma s sahhara tal bidnija li qisha vladi tghid li jaqblilha!!!!
Oh, look. The nuts, wackos and freaks have wheeled out their classiest representative.