back.

Back from Comino,

Things to Remember: Orwell’s essays, St. Marija’s Chapel, Siestas

Things to Forget: Hippies

…(very short) break.

wink wink

nudge nudge

Air condition is something of the past, Ice-cream, Xtruppaw, Life, Jesus and Juan Mamo.

Reading, writing, Orwell, Writing, private and public.

Off to Comino, in the morning … see ya all next Monday.

the MLP General Secretary Election

In August the MLP soap opera will run to its end with the glorious ending of the election for the General Secretary.

I believe that, apart from Mr. Jason Micallef, the candidates are all able to run the job.

Jason Micallef is a sad case. He was paid to do one job: to win the MLP the General Election. He failed. One would have expected him to resign, like Sant and the rest did. Not only did he not resign but is now contesting to keep his post. Really and truly, what is wrong with this guy?

What I find more astounding is the fact that the new MLP leader, Joseph, did not tell him in a crystal clear voice: ‘dude, you got to leave’. Instead he is leaving, in very Gonzi style, to others, to the Red Delegates, what he is suppose to do himself: get Jason out of the Great Socialist’s camp or give him another post, like cleaning the toilets. The least he could have done, if he lacks the balls to tell him face to face, was to send him an sms: ‘dude, u gt 2 leave’.

When Tony Blair’s popularity was in decline, the British Labour Party chose to change him with Gordon Brown. Now that Brown’s own popularity seems hopelessly a disaster, rumours are spreading that he might be replaced. It will not happen, for various reasons. Anyhow, my point is that the British Labour Party’s administration is so strong and practical that when the leader’s popularity seems to lead to an electoral disaster they think in the interest of the party and do whatever it takes (I hope legally and within the democratic common sense) to win; even if this means replacing the big boy himself.

The Malta Labour Party is not the same. When in 2003, the MLP lost the General Election, they went through an utter farce and kept Alfred Sant when the man in the street did not like him and it kept not liking the dude till 2008 when the MLP lost again the election. Now, if the MLP keeps Jason Micallef as its secretary then I’m afraid that the man in the street will interpret it as ‘Bis SERJETA?!’ … I will only feel sad for the genuine Labourite supporters who compose 48+ % of the population.

Malta Summer Art Festival

Here is a link to the website:

You will only get to download the E-Programme; for the website is still under construction. No rush though, the festival only started a few days ago …

Tickets can be bought from ‘Malta Ticket’

JPO, do we need to spell it out?

Times of Malta:

The chairman and a member on the Mepa board which had approved the controversial open-air discothèque in Mistra told the police in written statements that they were against the project but eventually gave in to pressure by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.

… Mr Vassallo described the pressure as so intense that, shortly before the case broke out in public, he deleted 71 messages from Dr Pullicino Orlando in connection with the case.

READ ON

JPO, do we need to spell it out?

Do  us  a favour and get your arse out! So, the man that we all love to hate - Alfred Sant; was right after all.

What would Fonzi say?

Misfits bar is BACK!

Good things happen to those who wait. Is it correct? Who cares!?

We waited and they kept us waiting… but now Misfits is back in Town!

This is the e-mail I received on facebook:

Hello Friends…so we’ve finally managed to set ourselves an opening date! The hammocks have been built, the dying sofas have been restored, the projectors are in place, and the bar is fully stocked, so were just about ready to go…few things will evolve along the way, but with summer in full swing the sun, sea, mojitos, and dance floor are calling.

Date: Saturday 7pm onwards.

Line up: Misfits veterans Philippe, Rusty Cowboy (Spooky Monkey) and Cheeky Needle will be spinning a summery selection of funk, soul, house, disco, drum n bass and beyond.

Entrance is FREE

Location: Misfits Bar, (Roof terrace of) NSTS Aqua centre, Tigne

Opening hours:

We will be open everyday from noon till late.
Except on Monday and Tuesday evenings (6pm onwards), due to other unrelated events happening on the beach

Misfit Group

Al Jaazera: on Obama

Nader is right: Obama needs to challenge the sacred cows in Washington – the white power structure, as Nader says. That is the change that American voters are hoping for – a Washington , DC that responds to the necessities of the American people rather than those funding corporate-government candidates.  Listen to Nader and a landslide is Obama’s; don’t listen and join Dukakis, Gore and Kerry in losing to weak Republican candidates who should have been easily defeated.

READ

It pays to be with god

They preach prosperity - that God can make you healthy and wealthy.

Every year some of America’s best known TV evangelists bring in hundreds of millions of dollars from donors all over the world. But as Jonathan Beale reports, some of the TV evangelists’ own lifestyles have begun to ring alarm bells and prompted a Senate investigation into their activities.

The future to be (in Malta)

On the Nicholas Azzopardi case people were sceptic. It was dismissed as another case of ‘sensationalism’. The Times of Malta now reports that two African persons were brutally assaulted by the police in PV. Oh, well, we are in Malta, we are Catholic, they are black, what they were doing anyhow in paceville? Anyways who cares? Yet, the report goes on:

‘Mr Cilia then told the police several times that he would like to report his stolen mobile phone, but the officers at the desk kept telling him they were busy.

Mr Cilia said that while he was waiting outside the police station, a policeman “wearing a summer top but with a police badge showing”, parked his car, entered the station angrily, re-emerged and pushed Mr Cilia roughly, throwing him down a flight of about seven steps and slamming him into a wall. Using foul language, he said the boy had got on his nerves.

The policeman left the station at that point but returned later to excuse himself for losing his temper. However, he said that had it been another day, he would have “smashed his face” and not just pushed him.

Mr Cilia tried to file a report again, this time wanting to report that he had been assaulted by a police officer for no apparent reason.

“The police on duty kept telling me that they were busy, despite sitting comfortably at their desk,” he claimed.

Another policeman raised his arm menacingly so Mr Cilia left the station in fear.

Mr Cilia said he spoke to his lawyer and will be filing charges because not only was he refused the chance to report his stolen mobile, but he was also assaulted by a police officer.’

You still think that everything is fine and dandy; that such behavior is acceptable? On top of that the nice Maltese policeman will be provided with the ‘Taser’:

A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) technology^[1] to cause Neuromuscular Incapacitation or NMI^[2] and strong muscle contractions through the involuntary stimulation of both the sensory nerves and the motor nerves. The Taser is not dependent on pain compliance making it highly effective on subjects with high pain tolerance. For this reason it is preferred by law enforcement over traditional stun guns and other electronic control weapons.^[3][4][5] Currently there are two main police models, the M26 and X26. Both come with various accessories, including a laser sight and mounted digital video camera that can record in low-light situations. Taser International is also marketing a civilian model called the C2 model.

Tasers were introduced as less-lethal weapons to be used by police to subdue fleeing, belligerent, or potentially dangerous subjects, often when what they consider to be a more lethal weapon would have otherwise been used. The use of Tasers has become controversial following instances of Taser use which have resulted in injury and death.^[6][7]

^Wikipedia

Can you imagine the Maltese policeman with such a weapon?

Sleep tight.

Eulogy to Mugabe

Mugabe, Mugabe

I love you,

Oh, great leader,

Oh, great liberator,

I love you for reminding us that democracy is after all a piece of paper

I love you for reminding us that democracy requires maturity

Mugabe, Mugabe

You are truly great,

You went out of your way to maintain power

You killed and harassed people who opposed you

You reminded the dormant Anarchist that the state is illegitimate

That liberty can’t be institutionalized

That even the greatest of liberators can turn into the most atrocious of all dictators

That no one is immune to power

That there is still a long way to go for the people to be ‘really’ liberated

Thanks oh, mighty Mugabe

Now you stand alone.

But you do not care.

As long as power is your friend then you do not need anyone else.

I hope you have realized that just like your democracy this eulogy is a joke.