No joking matter

Last Sunday as I settled down to read the papers, while I ate the one leisurely breakfast of the week, I came across a very interesting snippet in the previous day's London's Daily Telegraph.

"Whistleblower to expose Prodi and Kinnock failings", read the headline in the Euro File article. Since Neil Kinnock was coming to Malta that week and I intended to attend his public lecture, I marked the item for later reference and moved on to Anne Robinson, Zoe Heller and the editorial.

Mr Kinnock, the European Union Reforms Commissioner, gave his lecture at the University on Friday morning. Well, really it was more of a question and answer session than a lecture.

But in his short introduction he came across as a jolly kind of fellow, who kept joking about his age. When someone referred to him as a "seasoned politician", he joked that this was a diplomatic way of addressing a "geriatric".

Considering that Europe is trying to crack down on agism, (The Lisbon Agenda is about getting all hands on deck, see Chris Pond's interview on page 5) this was hardly PC, even if he was the butt of the joke, but I am being prissy.

After all, if Mr Kinnock wants to endear himself to audiences by presenting himself as an aging joker, that is his prerogative. The audience loved him and were all laughing deferentially. Meanwhile, I was rapidly doing a bit of mind juggling on how to frame my question in a way that was not too ungracious - after all he was our University's guest and he also knew he had seduced the audience.

I told Mr Kinnock that an article (mentioned at the beginning of this column) by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard referring to "Mr Prodi's fake reforms", also alleged that he (Mr Kinnock) had covered up for insider-run fiefdoms, and since he was the reform commissioner he could perhaps tell us what was going on.

Now, as you will discover soon, this was pretty mild compared to what Evans-Pritchard reported. However, it seems that Mr Kinnock mistook my graciousness for ignorance.

He first of all said that he had not seen the article and 'joked' that Evans-Pritchard had not 'consulted' him about it.

Now, those of you with the slightest knowledge of how politicians of Mr Kinnock's stature work would have found this difficult to believe.

He is surrounded by apparatchiks whose job it is to bring such articles to his attention, preferably before they get to print.

The article referred to a "blistering exposé" by Paul Van Buitenen, "Europe's most feared whistle-blower".

Mr Van Buitenen claimed that "nothing has changed since the collapse of the last commission after corruption claims in 1999", and that Mr Kinnock's "reflex has been to sweep scandals under the carpet, shield miscreants and perpetuate a system in which powerful EU insiders run fiefdoms to suit themselves".

At the lecture Mr Kinnock defended his record by saying that now director generals and anyone responsible for money handling and contract handling could only hold those posts for a maximum of five years.

Mr Van Buitenen first blew the whistle on the Commission's poor management in the fight against internal irregularities and fraud on December 9, 1998, while assistant-auditor in the Commission's Financial Control Directorate. He first drew the attention of a Member of the European Parliament to the irregularities in 1998.

The outcome was that he was suspended, had his salary halved and ordered to face disciplinary action. But, he fought on and his exposures triggered the collapse of Jacques Santer's Commission.

Mr Van Buitenen forwarded an incriminating 34-page letter, including almost 600 pages of reference material, to a Member of the European Parliament.

This was the acceleration of an ongoing series of events that finally led to the resignation of the entire Commission a little more than three months later.

The Committee of Independent Experts issued their final report in September 1999. It presented detailed recommendations for a thorough administrative reform of the Commission. This final report has been acknowledged by the European Parliament as a very good basis for reform.

Mr van Buitenen's book Blowing the Whistle: One man's fight against fraud in the European Commission was launched in March 2000.

Described as a "lightning rod" for disaffected EU officials, he is now about to publish his second book in which he further alleges that the disappearance of Lm3 million into "black accounts" at the EU data office, Eurostat, is just a sample of what goes on throughout the apparatus.

Since under staff rules Mr Van Buitenen, who previously worked for the Dutch police, must obtain clearance before exposing the inner workings of the EU, The Daily Telegraph has so far only seen the outline of his book in a proposal included in a letter to the Commission.

"Kinnock's name will be on every single page, and it won't be pretty", an EU official familiar with the text said, according to The Telegraph.

No wonder he gave a symbolic little dance on Friday when he said he was leaving the job in December.

Maybe the people in the audience, who applauded Kinnock when he flippantly treated the journalist who I referred to in my question, will read this and learn that politicians who 'joke' about journalists fear them for probing and asking awkward questions.

Watching your cholesterol

If you are anything like me, you will always be looking for spreads and other food that are low fat, low salt, cholesterol free, etc., when visiting your local supermarket.

I have been doing this for years. Although not exactly a health freak, I have always been conscious of what my family ate, I exercise regularly and listen to my body, and no, I am not looking for an Ms Healthy 2004 Award.

First of all, I have my lapses. I love unsalted butter and all kinds of bread, and I sometimes cannot resist that 'combo', as Jamie Oliver would put it, for breakfast.

Finding 'healthy' food in Valletta when you are in a hurry at lunchtime is not easy, so I often resort to fast food. And I am not averse to the mid-afternoon chocolate bar.

Come the evening, it is not the first time I have got home, after a tedious working day, and thrown myself on the sofa in front of the telly with a bag of crisps and a whisky or a glass of red wine and transport myself to London's East End.

Talk about couch potato! You have guessed, I want my cake and eat it.

However, all it takes is a glimpse in a shop window, or a skirt or pants pinching my waist for me to get sensible again.

I am currently going through one of my tight-rope walk phases, i.e. exercising regularly, yet indulging like crazy, and since I was risking upsetting that fine balance that allows me not to fall into the pit, I was thinking it was time to revert to the regime where I exercise like crazy and indulge less often.

I had never taken a cholesterol test, until recently, and although my stress levels can fly off the handle, I was quite relieved that my cholesterol level was low.

I got my test gratis at the launch of the new Flora pro-activ, a new margarine spread, as those of you who read Marie Benoit's Gallaria last week already know.

As I told you, I love butter and margarine does not feature in my fridge, but I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted the new product, and I intend to buy a tub at my next shopping trip, which does not mean I am giving up butter altogether.

It's walking that tight-rope again, and its good to have sensible alternatives to turn to when the balance is in danger of tipping over.

Flora claim that their new product can lower ldl (bad) cholesterol by 10-15 per cent in just three weeks when moving to a healthy diet.

The new spread utilises the benefits of a natural plant ingredient called plant sterols, which are now recognised as a new weapon in the fight against cholesterol.

Natural plant sterols bring a simple and effective way to lower cholesterol levels in people at risk of coronary heart disease from elevated cholesterol levels.

The Health Promotion Unit is renewing its efforts to promote healthier lifestyles and is even encouraging caterers to offer low and cholesterol-free dishes.

I would certainly patronise eating places that offered healthy food. Speaking during the Flora pro-activ launch, Ms Lucienne Pace, scientific officer (nutrition) at the unit, said that high blood cholesterol is one of the risk factors in coronary heart disease (chd), because it sticks to the artery walls, produces fatty plaques, and narrows the diameter of the arteries, thus provoking strokes and heart attacks.

According to the findings of the lifestyle survey 2003 released by the National Statistics Office, heart disease in Malta is the most common cause of death and the importance of reducing cholesterol cannot be over-emphasised.

Sixty per cent of the population is either overweight or obese, with the average male weighing in at 78.5 kg compared to the EU average of 78.8 kg and the average female weighing 65.8 kg, surpassing the EU average of 65.4 kg.

Well, at least I am still below even the EU average, but it is still wise to stick to a balanced diet, such as one based on plant foods, such as wholemeal/wholegrain foods, legumes, fruits and vegetables - that contain natural plant sterols and are low in saturated fats and dietary cholesterol, the experts say.

They also promote a healthy lifestyle that includes adequate weight management, regular physical activity in our daily lives and a tobacco-free environment.

Smoke gets in your food

A random poll has revealed that 81.9 per cent of the people interviewed were against smoking in restaurants and 80.1 per cent felt the same about snack bars.

So why is the GRTU getting so excited. The punters prefer smoke-free zones. Smoke-free establishments are more likely to do better rather than worse, when the new anti-smoking legislation goes through.

And does Vince Farrugia have to degenerate into the 'mess with us at your peril' threat to the government. Anyone threatening me with that kind of statement would get short shrift and would certainly have lost any sympathy I might have had with the cause.

As to smokers who want to smoke while they eat, let them. Make a small proportion of cafes and restaurants smoke zones. If they want to poison each other, it's their choice, but at least the non-smoking population can eat in a tobacco-free environment.