PM's bio on Wikipedia targeted
Lawrence Gonzi's biography on the internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia has been manipulated by somebody with an overdose of humour.
Interspersed with accurate information on Dr Gonzi's career one can find that his favourite film is The Full Monty. "When asked if he'd ever consider performing a re-enactment of the famous scene he said: "I'd only do it if I lose an election, and the six would be: me, my brother, mario (de marco), jeffrey (pullicino orlando), jason (micallef) and eddie (fenech adami)."
One can also read that at March 8 general election, Gonzi was again elected as Prime Minister, having defeated Alfred Sant 6-5 on penalties, with his brother Michael Gonzi successfully converting the all important penalty!
The bio was corrected by mid-morning.
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Kevin Chircop
Jul 11th 2008, 18:14
From the comments below, there is a dire need for another series of AHNA AHNA JEW M'AHNIEX.
Why can't we be like our European counterparts and learn to make fun of ourselves!
I would urge Mr.Joe Saliba to start writing the scripts once again. I guess he has some free time now on his hands and I'm sure that his jokes will do a world of good for us as a nation.
Elaine Bugeja
Jul 11th 2008, 13:42
I'm a Maltese national living abroad and I have to say that it makes my day to read the comments following a funny article like this. I sit inside during my lucnhbreak purposely to have a read through the comments..absolutely hilarious! It's amazing how worked up some people get over something so trivial, you can feel it in the words they choose to use and you could also see how arguments develop from the first to the last comment - it just cracks me up!! Keep them coming...
ellul godfrey
Jul 11th 2008, 12:58
Tampering with info on Wikipedia is common. If you go, for example, to the page about the 1982 World Cup Edition, you might notice that someone put in Turkey as the victors, instead of Italy!!
Usually these intrusions are corrected quite quickly.
Charles Cassar
Jul 11th 2008, 00:20
What I can't understand is why the Times tells us that the person who edited the page had an 'overdose of humour'. Can someone elucidate? Do you think the joke was in bad taste and that our beloved leaders should be immune from occassional leg pulling?
John Schembri
Jul 10th 2008, 18:11
I believe that Dr Gonzi liked the joke.
Ivan Attard
Jul 10th 2008, 17:14
My God Beck! You do have a ready comment on anything it seems. Malta's own answer to Wikipedia! Go on ABC jump to the rescue of your own PM! It's your job at the Times after all ain't it?
Alexander Grima
Jul 10th 2008, 16:30
@ Effie Carbonaro ... "Without clothing,nude of everthing,penniless and frustrated."
I see where your frustration is coming from, as for the rest, I'm afraid that's not Gonzi's doing! Might I suggest therapy?!!!
B Mamo
Jul 10th 2008, 13:28
Such a country of Idiots and pathetics. qed ipattuha ta minghalihom!
from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Muscat
From careers section:
2001–2004: editor of controversial and unsuccessful Labour online newspaper
In the Labour Youth Forum:
Financial Secretary (1994–1997) (hence the immense Party debt!)
Ara kemm hawn min hu bahnan ta.
A Camilleri
Jul 10th 2008, 13:04
@ Joe Galea
Yeah..... If we elected Sant in power, the oil would be much cheaper to buy and we would only have a 25% surcharge!
Who knows maybe all the world's problems would have been solved. Food would be cheaper, no wars, cheaper oil prices, etc.... All we needed was Sant in power of this small Island State!
Dream on.......
Ian Sammut Dacoutros
Jul 10th 2008, 11:37
The question dear Mark Brincat is not that it was done - it is very easy to trace who actually edited his page on WIKI, yes those lovely people at WIKI do have their security ducks in a row - it took me the best part of 30 secs - Data protection only allows to go so far, to actually pin point the person would require authorisation, but it is possible.
The question I ask is how this has anything to do with the water and electricity bill dear Mr Joe Galea?!?! I am sure that even Dr Gonzi smiled at this but after reading these comments something funny has become pathetic!!!
Joe Galea
Jul 10th 2008, 07:48
Is this a piece of news to make it to the headlines? If I would have read the wickipaedia on Gonzi I would have had a laugh. But I don't laugh when I get my water & electricity bill with 95% surcharge. I don't laugh to drive on moon-face roads, to see prices going up eevery day, to have my salary stuck while cost of living is soaring upwards.
I think we have more interesting news to report other than this crap. If it happened to Joseph Muscat, we would have PN apologists writing that it was the damn truth and a lot of bulls**t and venom as they know how.
Anthony Borg
Jul 10th 2008, 02:31
Loosen up guys, what's the big deal? Most politicians have a thick hide and very good sense of humour.
C Psaila
Jul 9th 2008, 18:22
A few weeks ago I also came across a Hi5 profile claiming to be of the PM. Nothing wrong in laughing at our politicians!
effie carbonaro
Jul 9th 2008, 16:04
the joke is that gonzi has rendered us has the full monty staff.without clothing,nude of everthing,penniless and frustrated.i for one am not laughing
T Borg Cardona
Jul 9th 2008, 15:57
Has it occurred to any of you that Claire Bonello was being sarcastic???? At least I hope she was!!
Andrew Borg-Cardona
Jul 9th 2008, 15:54
An important journalistic question arises: was Dr Gonzi consulted by the lackeys at the Times before the report was written? According to the wisdom as received from Lil'Elfdom, everything that is produced by the Times has a pro-Nationalist slant, so it stands to reason that the report was cleared with him before. And Claire Bonello is right, it is a national(ist) crisis (same thing) that someone dares to laugh at the Prime Minister. What do they think he is? A figure of fun? The world shines out of Malta's umbillicus, so no-one can laugh at us. Has everyone understood now, this is something that should never be allowed to happen again, we have to ban the Internet from our shores, once and for all, the same way the heroic Maltese banned the Times of London because it dared to poke fun at the greatest of all great Maltese the one, the only, the fantastic, the saviour of all that is ours, the one who EDITOR'S NOTE: at this point, men in white coats came to take him away.....
J Micallef
Jul 9th 2008, 13:48
@ Claire Beonello
Its' a news item and a funny one at that, but definitely it's not a national crisis. i am sure that the PM is the first one to laugh at this, whatever the intention of the hacker was.
Cool down babe. Gonzi is down to earth, contrary of the self image a few pseudo inteelectuals try to project on others. In psychology this is called projection of ones own self perception.
Dunstan Crockford
Jul 9th 2008, 13:15
Come on!!!! You should all know that L.G. HAS a great sense of humour and would have laughed out loudly at that!!! He would be the last person on earth to even pass a comment about it!!!!
Having it corrected is normal and natural......
Gianluca Barbieri
Jul 9th 2008, 12:37
What's so important about this?? this happens on a regular basis and much worse....In fact we didn't block the user. Just one month ago i had to rewrite the whole Lawrence Gonzi article from scratch on the maltese wikipedia since it was written by a PN supporter (and he wrote Dott LG huwa persuna bis-sens... when he knows he has to maintain a neutral point of view). Currently on the maltese wikipedia we're only two wikipedians (disgrace), and sometimes we get users who log in anonymously.
Mark Brincat
Jul 9th 2008, 12:27
Eric, Wikipedia is called the FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA simply because anyone can add, edit or remove anything.
This means that the entry on Dr. Gonzi was not hacked, but simply altered by someone who wanted to exercise his keyboard in that manner ...
Claire Bonello
Jul 9th 2008, 10:31
Goodness. A national crisis. Contact the Wikipedia people at once - and tell them that the name of our PM should never ever be included in the same sentence with a reference to a film about amateur male strippers.
caroline crutchley
Jul 9th 2008, 10:18
Wicked !!!!! What would be more fun that LG admits it was him!!!
About time politicians found a sense of humour !!!
Make politics more palatable for us mere mortals for sure.