Sixteen or so years ago when I was at Junior College, one of my German A-Level text books was a play called Der Besuch der alten Dame, ‘The Visit’ in English though an accurate translation would be ‘the old lady’s visit’.
Wiki’s summary; “An enormously wealthy older woman returns to her former hometown with a dreadful bargain: she wants the townspeople to kill the man who got her pregnant, then jilted her. In exchange, she will provide enough money to revitalize the decrepit town.
Sep 24, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
It's much more than a stretch for the Gasans to feign innocence now. It's a direct affront to our intelligence.
If we the people knew for years that the Electrogas deal was rotten, would you expect actual shareholders in the enterprise not to also know?
These are people who are HUGELY experienced in business, with decades of public procurement experience behind them, not you and I. There is no way Joe Gasan actually thought he won a truly competitive tender and if he thought he did, the man has lost his marbles, but he hasn't.
Jul 26, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Without access to numbers and speaking superficially, based only what I've seen with my own eyes, Sicilians are taking the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent 2nd wave far more seriously than the Maltese are.
You won't enter a restaurant without a mask on. Although not a blanket approach, a number of restaurants will ask for contact details and you will fill in a form stating down to the minute how long you stayed at your table. Most dining takes place al fresco.
Jul 13, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
"Just this morning, parliamentary secretary Rosianne Cutajar released a video produced by taxpayer money directly on her personal Facebook page, in clear breach of the rules laid out by the Standards Commissioner."
lovinmalta.com/news/junior-mi…
Jaqq u ħajż istja xi tqalliegħ tal-istonku. Kont se nagħmel suġġeriment mhux wisq ġentili dwar x'jixraq tagħmel biċ-ċumbini il-Junior Minister, imma qas irrid inkun sterjotipa jien wara kollox. Ir-"riformi" fl-isem biss nagħmluhom imma.
Jul 7, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I was at the protest the day after the car bomb, and many individuals there felt it was unwise, foolish, uncalled for, even treasonous to demand the AG's resignation.
We didn't know then what we know now, so I felt they maybe had a point, although in my view a resignation would have been the honourable thing to do for anyone who takes their own integrity seriously.
2/3
Jun 30, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Honest question as I do not remember, but has the Chamber condemned any of the happenings of the past few years, months, and weeks?
A few instances which could have done with some strong words from said Chamber include:
- Yorgen Fenech's defence team hiring a lawyer straight from the AG's office
- the overuse of libel and defamation laws to create a SLAPP-friendly climate
- the monstrous cockups in terms of data protection that Government and its incompetent agencies continue committing
Jun 26, 2020 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
I keep getting asked a few things which I'll answer below:
Q: "You should enter politics."
A. Thanks but no thanks.
Q: "Are you always angry?"
A. No, not always. Often I'm frustrated more than angry.
Jun 19, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Not that we didn't already know it, but basically, Enemalta won't cut bills for struggling residents and businesses during the Covid crisis but could, and did, push millions of Euros of our public funds into corrupt projects so Mizzi, Schembri, Tonna, Fenech, Muscat and...
.. fuck knows who else could rob us blind.
This is way past them lining their pockets. The lining here is so big that it's bigger than the entire goddamn suit, never mind the pocket.
Jun 12, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Dal-buffu xil-qaħbeċ jaħseb li hu imma?
My reply to him on Facebook follows. It's in Maltese, because strong gut reactions tend to draw out the mother language's wrath from me.
Jun 5, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
"No amount of flipped cop cars and burnt down precincts could even begin to rival the destruction done by the state through the police force. In 2019 alone, police shot and killed 1,004 people in the United States. Those lives cost more than a $100,000 squad car."
"The police state values private property, rather than people, and will go to extreme measures to protect the latter."
Apr 1, 2020 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
This is a page from the website of the company which got breached, or rather, left records of 337,384 Maltese voters *unsecured* in a MySQL database file.
cplanetmalta.com/smart-home/
They said it was a 'mishap' and that the data was 'old'. As if that matters in any way.
Mar 3, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Mark my words and watch the spin in action. They will say the foundations of the collapsed building were all wrong, they were on soil. That accidents happen. That the ones before them built hastily and cut corners and that buildings of that era are inherently unsafe.
They will say they did all they could have and worked to the letter of the law and as permitted. Their method statement was flawless, you'll be told. They will blame operator error, the weather, the rock, anything to keep themselves white and clean.
Mar 2, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
"How can we believe that government has gender equality at heart if the same Government wants to continue facilitating the commodification and objectification of women’s bodies?
Decriminalising the selling of sex without criminalising the buying provides a very attractive situation for traffickers, pimps and johns to continue exploiting and denigrating women."
Back in November, loads of people told me, "If you're attacking Muscat you must also attack Adrian Delia."
They weren't wrong, though I said I had, in fact, done so on countless occasions, and back in November, with the popular groundswell of protest, Delia was irrelevant.
1/7
It was not the time to attack a hollowed out Opposition leader as he was and is still, a very small part of a massive problem. It was important to stay 'on message'.
Now things are somewhat different. Delia must go. More than ever, a strong Opposition will be needed.
2/7
Jan 24, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
“Our members are fed up of being associated, most of the time unjustly, with donations to politicians and parties and they are victims of a flawed system that leads to a lot of unnecessary suspicion,” the #Malta Developers’ Association president said.
1/4
It's already very easy to attack Sandro Chetcuti on the basis of what members of the MDA do, and on the basis of what he says, and on the MDA's appalling track record. When he says crap like this though, he just makes it easier.
2/4
Jan 19, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
What irks me most deeply about this story -
1. The Ministers haven't said a thing that we the public, kept in the dark about all this, did not say or feel already
2. They are/were Ministers and as such still toothless against Muscat & Co. maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/…
cont. 2. This hollowing out of their powers is something they ought to have spoken and taken action on beforehand, and shows a political naiveté, or a willingness to sail seas that have been calmed by Muscat & Co), both of which are unacceptable.
Jan 14, 2020 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
This is an absolutely apolitical post mildly analysing Twitter in the #malta context. @RobertAbela_MT has fewer than 900 followers on Twitter, and increase of 150 circa since 24 hours ago. Still zero tweets.
Meanwhile, other @MaltaGov members such as @RosianneCutajar or @ChrisCardonaMP have far more followers than the new PM.
Jan 7, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
RE: PA/09858/19
Sent to representations@pa.org.mt @pa_malta
To whom it may concern,
I would like to lodge my objection to any development taking place in Fomm ir-Riħ, most especially any development taking the guise of agri/eco-tourism which has become nothing but a byword
for an initial application which is later altered and tailored to suit the whims and wishes of the developers. We have witnessed this happening time and time again.
The area is clearly located within an outside development zone.
Dec 1, 2019 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
🇲🇹 - INGĦAQDU u IPPROTESTAW. Is-sinjuri u s-setgħana ta' dal-pajjiż iriduna naqtugħha, nikkalmaw, u ngħalquha bil-pulit dil-froġa. Mhux biss dritt tagħna, imma hu wkoll dmir li nuru resistenza, u nibqgħu nirreżistu sakemm il-ġustizzja tista' ssir mingħajr xkiel.
Mela llum fl-4, uri wiċċek f' Kastilja, u għolli leħnek f' ħanġra kontra ż-żarmar sistematiku tal-liġijiet tagħna.
Nov 28, 2019 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Yesterday evening I had a terse and sobering argument with @SimonBusuttil which opened my eyes to a few things. First off, I apologise to him for my angry tone. He never asked for any apology at all and I do so because I realise I came off entirely wrong footed.
It is true that Busuttil has championed the cause of rule of law for the past three years and before. It is true that he has been ostracised from the PN. He has no say in whether Hermann Schiavone and Kristy Debono are fired from the PN.
