Tuesday, 20th January 2009
STRANGE BREW
Darn. It's out. It wasn't Alfred Sant who spread the word about the Pullicino Orlando story too late to win the elections for the Labour Party.
Nope, it was the Nationalists themselves.
Don't take my word for it: take Joe Muscat's. More precisely, take his word for it as reported by L-Orizzont, that paragon of all journalistic virtues.
Thus was it reported in Monday's edition of that particular paper.
Now, I'm not sure what concerns me more: the fact that Muscat really thinks that the Nationalists were so weirdly insane as to prejudice the advantage they had clawed back thanks to Sant's predisposition for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory or the fact that he was so wildly misinterpreted not by the opposition media but by his own camp. I know which I think is the version closest to reality.
Let's analyse this.
According to what Muscat was reported to have said, a few days before the General Elections, the Nationalists, who were leading in the polls after having reversed a deficit of quite a few thousands, thought it would be a good idea to risk chucking away that lead by breaking a story guaranteed to alienate a whole bunch of people.
And this just to deviate attention from a load of other issues which were about to see the light of day and win the day for the Labour Party.
If this crackpot scheme had been proposed as a storyline for a radically satirical parody of a political soap-opera, the producers would have asked the writers what they were on and then told them to take a long walk on a short pier.
Quite apart from anything else, we don't even have any idea - not even the slightest hint - what deep, dark secrets the Nationalists were trying to keep, erm, deep and dark.
And there we all were, thinking that it was only Anglu Farrugia who was seeing dodgy electoral wheezes under the bed.
Sometimes, you have to wonder what it is about Labour. Let slip the Lil'Elves.
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Comments
Unfortunately I had to break my word but I'll tell you this:
Even if all what you said is true, did the PN supporters ever do something wrong? once at least? eh? Cause even though I'm not into politics, especially partisan politics I don't know of any country where one side does all the bad things and the other does all the good things., however reading your comments in all articles leads me to think so.
I hope you try and get my point. I don't care about PL or PN but I care about being objective.
Without realising it, your Compact Oxford is giving you the same results that I gave you ,only in slightly different terms.
“ A person who has little faith in the integrity or sincerity of others. 2 a sceptic. 3 (Cynic) (in ancient Greece) a member of a school of philosophers founded by Antisthenes, characterized by an ostentatious contempt for wealth and pleasure”.
This is from Encarta (uk) my source.—“A member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who believed that virtue is the only good and that the only means of achieving it is self-control. The sect was founded by Antisthenes in the 4th century BC”.
The joke is your comparison of the Greek philosophers, characterized by an ostentatious contempt for wealth and pleasure, with Alfred Sant , Jason Micallef and the gang in the PL camp. I don’t think that any of the latter are against wealth and pleasure.lol
Let’s face it Joe the term you wanted to use was ‘psycho’. Not that I agree with you mind you.
As per yours to Joe Vella
' Are you incapable of submitting an original comment ? Do you have to repeat verbatim , in a parrot like fashion , a comment made by me in another blog but adressed to someone else ?'
Of course you will not reply - only because you cannot contradict one word of what I wrote. Answer just this one question: Did I give an untrue version of all the horrendous events which happened between 1971 and 1987?
Your silence will be an admission that you have no answer to contradict me or as Soviet dissident Yevgeny Vevtushenko wrote, "“When the truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie” - Thanks CJB
Your advice for using both of my eyes instead of only the right one is good indeed. I only pray that you at least open one eye, right or left and maybe see one half ray of light.
@ Charles J Buttigieg
"I am seeing stronger hard liners turning their coats. Have a look see for yourself in the papers. Not prudent to mention names".
Do we have another aliases scheme developing again? If I believed everything I read in the papers, I would also be convinced that Dom is your brother, KMB a cousin twice removed, Alfie your nephew from your mother's side and now Joseph another nephew of yours. How far removed is Jason?
I call your bluff - just start with one or two instances. I too have a precious lifetime that I do not intend to fritter it away but I will not chicken out from replying to any of your pertinent queries if that is at all possible within the constraint of 200 words!
I know that the burden of proof is on the accuser, now you know it too, so start substantiating your accusations and that will make you credible.
'What I do expect is that you pinpoint those statements with which you disagree , to try to confute it logically and that I be given the opportunity to present counter arguments . '
That would take me a life time and I've got a happy life to live . You carry on with your pinpointing others , you are doing a grand job for the PL .
The Retail Price Index increased to 119.12 last month from 118.97 in November , the NSO said today . Malta also ended the year with an annual inflation rate of 4.93% , from 3.31% at the end of 2007, while the 12 th month annual average of inflation was 4.26% ( 1.25% in December 2007 )
The NSO said last month's RPI movements reflected an increase of 1.93% in the Food Index, mainly on account of higher prices of vegetables and fruit. The clothing and footwear index rose by 1.01%. Smaller increases were seen in the housing index , non alcaholic beverages , the beverages and tobacco index and the household equipment and house maintenance cost index .
Lower fuel prices caused a drop of 1.97% in the transport and communication index . The water, electricity, gas and fuels index registered a decrease of 0.41% , mainly due to price reductions in kerosene .
It seems that you that have problems with the Truth and not me.
It is he, who point the finger, that should substantiate what he put forward.
I do not answer because I do not want to give credibility to the one that point his finger with out producing one shred of evidence; and not hearsay that you are accustomed to and on which in the past have based your arguments upon
oh dear, you convinced me more of how much you see just from your right eye. Have you ever realised you have two eyes?
BTW even if you reply I won't bother to reply again unless you are balanced in your comments, that is neither pro PL neither pro PN
It’s too cold to go swimming, to wet for gardening, nothing spectacular on the box, my horse is resting, my wife is reading a book, my birds are fed, all my friends are at the office and the pub has no beer. I’m only left with Messrs Vella & Martinelli for my sins. Maybe I’ll get them to vote Labour, almost there. He he he. Mind you I am seeing stronger hard liners turning their coats. Have a look see for yourself in the papers. Not prudent to mention names.
“When the truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie” Soviet dissident Yevgeny Vevtushenko
You certainly give the impression that you have difficulties to face facts. Answer the questions and prove me wrong.
We narrate facts backed by solid evidence, by eye witnesses, documents and filmed and recorded events.
Try convince me that no riots happened under Socialist rule,
Convince me that MLP thugs did not burn and trash The Times printing press.
Convince me that the Police/MLP thugs did not raid the NP headquarters looking for 'cell phones'.
Convince me that the Raymond Caruana murder was never committed.
Convince me that the Courts/Curia were not attacked, records destroyed by MLP supporters.
Convince me that the Tal-Barrani attacks on NP supporters never happened.
Convince me That EFA's residence was not ransacked and his family terrorized by MLP supporters.
Convince me that the take over of two banks by the 'State' even if perfectly liquid, were necessary.
Convince me that State assets were not passed to private hands for a mere pittance.
Convince me that the attacks on Church schools were not a vindictive move by KMB.
Believe me, the last thing you should have mentioned is our inability to be convinced of anything. We are already convinced.
We are convinced nothing has changed within the (M)LP.
I will rely on the Oxford Dictionary as to what a cynic is and means; and certainly not on the self proclaimed smart one.
" cynic
/sinnik/
• noun 1 a person who has little faith in the integrity or sincerity of others. 2 a sceptic. 3 (Cynic) (in ancient Greece) a member of a school of philosophers founded by Antisthenes, characterized by an ostentatious contempt for wealth and pleasure.
— DERIVATIVES cynicism noun.
— ORIGIN Greek kunikos; probably originally from Kunosarges, the name of a gymnasium where the philosopher Antisthenes taught, but popularly taken to mean ‘doglike, churlish’, kuon ‘dog’ becoming a nickname for a Cynic."
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/cynic?view=uk
The MLP/PL and the Labour Media write volumes out of nothing; Can you imagine what the components of the PL would write.
All events mentioned by yousupposedly happened under the MLP guard.
Are you both naive if those claims could have been substantiated the Police under the grip control of the Government of the day would not had prosecuted. The Police went as far as trying to frame and innocent victim.
It was Labour Cabinet Ministers that left the Party because they couldn't stomach "il-Hnizrijiet" that was taking place at the time.
Words are cheap, Facts are hard to come by.
Why try to persuade Mr Martinelli and Mr Joe Vella at anything??? Go and relax rather. They are blindfolded so not worth even a second of your time. Read their comments in all issues and you'll know why.
As for looking into the Law courts and doing the digging that you mentioned, I wish you luck, most of the paperwork was thrown out of the windows and burn't when labourites broke into the law courts.
Do you recall those incidents or are they make belief also?
As long as even 1 exponent of the PL in parliament was part of the MLP during the 70' and 80's your credibilty is below 0.
20 or 30 years from now one might consider PL but for now the wound is still there, you know with the "no regrets" and all.
You are very adamant to expect others to reply to your questions yet very reluctant to give us your answers. Peter Muscat, a former PN activist, gave you some pertinent questions to answer. Peter said that it was easy to obtain a free Beretta. We are all still waiting.
In times of old a Cynic was a member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who believed that virtue is the only good and that the only means of achieving it is self-control. The sect was founded by Antisthenes in the 4th century BC.
Telling the truth can get you into hot water. As much as the world needs its cynics, it still doesn't realise that it needs them. Cynics today are habitually castigated by politicians, and others who know that they're on to them, so they lump them with the lowest of the low. They are generally regarded evil-spirited who behave in a dishonest, malicious, or otherwise contemptible way. They're portrayed as masters of deception, trickery and intrigue, untrusting and untrustworthy. Since they're neither leaders nor followers, they're expected to get out of the way -- and the virtuous (sic) get furious when they don't. Nobody loves a cynic, except maybe another cynic.
Joe I’m still laughing,by the irony not at you, and if you spot it you’ll be laughing too.
Re quote, I had already explained to you where you failed, you did not use your double inverted commas-quotation marks in their right places.
Dr Sant and his clan can write volumes on the many cases of “mental/psychological violence” inflicted by your PARTY on so many with different political views. You CAN NEVER take away that PN'S TRADE MARK.
Rather then open other's old wounds I refer you to what Carmen Attard wrote! Yes The PN has a lot to answer to .... much more then you can ever imagine or accept! I made a public apology for letting myself being misguided and participated/played a part on many occasions!!
Carmen Attard mentioned 'guns' ... I just add that it was much easier getting a 'beretta' then getting a 'pastizz'. For pastizzi we had to pay for a gun we did not!
I managed to find the enlightenment and gained simple common sense and simple logic.
For that I thank GOD ALMIGHTY!
The Oxford Dictionary of Curent English, New Addition, Oxford University Press.
"Cynic; 1. person with a pessimistic view of human nature; 2.one of school of ancient
Greek philosophers showing contempt for ease and pleasure"
Now, why don't you go stare at a mirror and laugh.
Also, I am still waiting for you to take back the contributions that you contributed to me that were not written by me in the previous blog. Guess little boys find it hard to admit they were wrong. Even so the self proclaimed smart ones.
Cynicism, a sneer of organic and plastic walking cliches. We are victims of our vanity, an ugly flower a vacant smile with a vapour of occurences for memory which are distilled into one intimate thought...
“Muscat Peter, for once I agree with you. Mental/psychological violence is the worst form of violence. Just ask Alfred Sant , Jason Micallef and the gang in the PL camp. I am quite sure that everyone of them have gone cynic with all the beating Gonzi and the PN lay on them over the years.” Which one of you is answerable to that?
A Cynic is a member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who believed that virtue is the only good and that the only means of achieving it is self-control.
Can it get better than this? Hehehe
If this is what you are refering to Dr. Saliba, it is not the Joe Vella, from Mellieha that posted it.
""Joe Vella (2 hours ago)
@ Dr Francis Saliba
'I share your dissatisfaction with the level of argumentation especially your evasive and irrilevant dragging in of extraneous material to distract attention, to side-track and to meander away from the matter under discussion'"
Are you incapable of submitting an original comment? Do you have to repeat verbatim, in a parrot-like fashion, a comment made by me in another blog but addressed to someone else?
We know very little about Raymond Caruana's murder and even less about Karin Grech.
Raymond Caruana's murder occurred in a public place and had the police at the time acted properly and pursued suspects, the case would probably have been solved. Instead they chose to give known suspects enough time to scrub themselves clean from gunpowder residue and appeared at the Police HQ at their convenience! Then, to rub salt, the police framed an innocent person who had not the remotest connection with the dastardly crime.
With respect to Karin Grech, it is useless to speculate except that there may have been a motive involving her father. The tragedy happened in 1977 and we all know how selective police investigations were at the time. Thank God they did not frame anyone then. Nonetheless, it is a permanent black mark on how politics were done three decades ago and not even if the case is solved will it ever ease the pain and anger of her family and the whole nation.
Two wasted lives which cry out for justice to be done!
I do not expect you, or anybody else, to accept what I write as gospel - nor do I care! I would appreciate being taken seriously by the intelligent section of the readers even if they do not submit comments.
What I do expect is that you pinpoint those statements with which you disagree, to try to confute it logically and that I be given the opportunity to present counter arguments.
The following was not posted by this Joe Vella(Mellieha)
"Joe Vella (1 hour, 10 minutes ago)
@ J Martinelli
' Your choice of mentioning the Raymond Caruana murder was a poor one indeed cause to this day nothing will stir a Nationalist and the general public's wrath more against the violence occuring with great regularity then . '
And Karen Grech ?"
What could hurt is the genuine truth, not the "TRUTH" secundum Petrus Muscatem.
'I share your dissatisfaction with the level of argumentation especially your evasive and irrelevant dragging in of extraneous material to distract attention, to side-track and to meander away from the matter under discussion.'
Just give us one good reason why we should accept what you write as the gospel truth , to the point , distant from distracting attention , not side-tracked and not zigzagging away from the matter under discussion . If you manage that we'll start to take you seriously .
"As a doctor of medicine you know very well that “violence” comes in different types and the worst type of violence is “mental/psychological violence” . This unique form of violence is the TRADE MARK of the PARTY you GLORIFY!"
Muscat Peter, for once I agree with you. Mental/psychological violence is the worst form of violence. Just ask Alfred Sant , Jason Micallef and the gang in the PL camp. I am quite sure that everyone of them have gone cynic with all the beating Gonzi and the PN lay on them over the years.
'I share your dissatisfaction with the level of argumentation especially your evasive and irrilevant dragging in of extraneous material to distract attention, to side-track and to meander away from the matter under discussion'
Anyone hiding behind anonymity can say what ever he/she pleases.
Unless you come up with events and specifics, you are not going to be believed.
' Your choice of mentioning the Raymond Caruana murder was a poor one indeed cause to this day nothing will stir a Nationalist and the general public's wrath more against the violence occuring with great regularity then . '
And Karen Grech ?
"If it were not for the constitution amendments that the PL provided for in 1987, the result of the last election would have put Labour in government ".
Your quote shows your complete ignorance of the fact that the Constitution can only be amended with the approval of two thirds majority in Parliament. Thus the MLP could not do it alone and it was on the insistence of the NP that wrestled the MLP's arms to arrive at a consensus.
Your quote also reveals that you do not know and neither have you read about events leading to the passing of the amendments in Parliament, as recorded by both MLP and NP historians.
You will be well advised to know facts before you click away at your keyboard otherwise you will be discounted as one more history spinner.
May I remind you that maltatoday's polls were vindicated the day after the general election. I never quoted l-orizzont or it-Torca in my contributions, and for your information, I don't even buy those newspapers. As a PL supporter, no I am not upset, as Dr Sant has his own personal opinions and I respect them. This is normal practice in every political party to have dissidents and criticism. Allahares, everyone agrees on everything.
@Joe Vella
In case you didn't realise, it was you who attacked the individual, not the PN.
Please be advised that I have an innate disinclination to reply to any commentator who gets his finger stuck on the "CapsLock" key of his keyboard for emphasis in the false belief that the prolific abuse of letters in upper case and the expression of baseless personal opinions could possibly be accepted as a substitute for facts or logic.
I keep my speculations to myself. In my comments I restrict myself to proven facts that I can corroborate when rashly and superficially challenged.
As regards your disingenuous attempt to give sole credit to the MLP for those constitutional amendments I would advise you to read chapter 22 "Demm u Sens" of Lino Spiteri's memoirs. It gives a vivid insider account of the blood and tears shed by the PN (and to a lesser extent, by some members of the MLP cabinet) before the amendments were grudgingly accepted and approved.
I do not mention other equally reliable authorities (for example Dr Guido de Marco) only because there are too many blinkered commentators who suffer from the delusion that the MLP is the sole repository of the truth. Needless to say - I do not agree.
As a doctor of medicine you know very well that “violence” comes in different types and the worst type of violence is “mental/psychological violence” . This unique form of violence is the TRADE MARK of the PARTY you GLORIFY!
Please, as a Doctor of Medicine, STOP opening old and very fresh wounds of the many thousands of such victims of Nationalist VIOLENCE! Your delivery of such MISINFORMATION can NEVER hide, never mind heal, the wounds of such victims.
You are supposed to heal wounds and not open NEW ONES!
It seems that your political blindness and deafness comes before your profession.
What a shame!
If there were more commentators of the mental frame of D Ellul, and if they made their voices heard over and above the usual cacophany of "cyanophobic" propaganda the value of these exchanges would receive an immense boost.
@Christine Cassar
My doctorate is in medicine but I am only a family doctor. Treating phobias is more in line with fully fledged psychiatry. Dealing specifically with an unreasoning fear (?hate) of anything bluish that would be a truly Herculean task considering that decades of non-violent PN rule have not convinced the unrepentant MLP diehards.
I was brought up in similar surroundings you presently live in. I know much more about the INFAMOUS Party you try to GLORIFY because I lived for long years in such household. I touched and witnessed “MANY BLACK & HORRIBLE EVENTS within the PN” that you and your likes play deaf and dumb to. I confess too that sometimes I played “a part” in such “EVENTS”!
I publicly confess that EFA was my ENLIGHTENMENT! I thank EFA for that but at same time I publicly condemn him. Should I continue?
I am convinced that at the end TRUTH will prevail, whether you and your likes, like it or not. Your mission of ‘hiding’ the Truth is self destructive as the present we live in is! I pray that one day you be Enlightened as I was.
I hope and pray it does. Then you be indeed open minded.
Keep it Mr. Ellul you are doing a fine job . You keep making your point and when they attack you personally just ignore them .
'Wait , perhaps the self professed smart one , will explain in plain English/Malteseto D.Ellul what you meant in your reply to Muscat Peter.'
Why do you need to be so mysterious ? You need to tell us who you are referring to as ' the self professed smart one ' . Go on tell us unless you are afraid to confront him directly .
If it were not for the constitution amendments that the PL provided for in 1987, the result of the last election would have put Labour in government . Would that have been the result of gerrymandering by the PN to advantage the PL ? You are not making sense by your arguments .
Prove it? Whom and how did the PN attack the individual?
vis-a-vis your comment to DEllul : LOL :)
I don't know if you are a Dr of medicine or not - but here's hoping - can you please tell me whether or not you think that there will ever be a cure for cyanophobia? :)
You just gave us one more reason why the LP is on the wrong side of the street!
You rely on a poll on MT ? I presume MT is Malta Today?
Is this the same paper which had anticipated a massive MLP victory last March even quoting the number of votes the MLP was leading with?
You are so willing to believe a non scientific poll which someone with a good head will take with a grain of salt. Are you always ready to believe everything which It-Torca or l-orizzont feeds you? It's scary.
Most voters make up their mind by comparing electoral programmes - which make sense and which don't. Past records are useful but not always, since economic and other conditions tend to change rapidly these days. We have many such examples such as the sudden collapse of the US banks followed rapidly by the financial industries in most countries.
No one is complaining about Dr. Sant's article. If any, it should be the Labour supporters who should be upset remembering that the party Executive ordered the report which Dr. Sant now disagrees with, in spite of indisputable evidence!
Whose analysis will Dr.Sant accept?
First of all I'm not part of any PL campaigns. I write in my own personal capacity, as a moderate PL supporter. Secondly, your comments have only one aim: to discredit the person rather than countering the logic or reason of the person's position.
on credibility - refer to last sunday's MT survey entitled 'Muscat still more trusted than Gonzi'
on Dr Sant - his was just an opinion piece, I don't understand the fuss. He writes a lot of articles, this was one of them!
Muscat Peter and D. Ellul are true examples of what is wrong with the PL Campaign.
Muscat Peter blames everyone and everything that moves under the sun for the MLP/PL Election lost, whereas; D. Ellul couldn't understand at all what has been posted. One wonder there is no one in the MLP/PL to do a proper analyses of the Election lost.
Wait, perhaps the self professed smart one, will explain in plain English/Malteseto D. Ellul what you meant in your reply to Muscat Peter.
A profound and perceptive analysis - you are an expert. I'm sure Joseph Muscat will be asking you to write the next report on Labour's defeat in 2013. They are building up quite a nice collection of such reports.
PS. - What is this about horse-riding? Does it have to do with the PN galloping to victory?
Your first two sentences are spot on!
Why does Malta not have an alternate government in waiting? - Exactly my point. It is the lack of credibility the LP enjoys and furthermore even if one tries hard to believe that the LP will make a good government, once he scratches the surface, the MLP's past will stare him away from doing the unthinkable - voting LP.
Trust is the number one requisite for an election victory and sadly the LP cannot be trusted. Not when it strongly advertises 'a new beginning' and then invites back and still has elements of the 70s and 80s. I call that regression and not an ideal vision for the future. Within the party there are too many hard feelings, faction against faction, sour grapes and rumours still abound. There is still no agreement on what caused defeat after defeat at the polls, the latest taking the form of a two page lament by Dr. Sant who rubbished a post election report commissioned and appointed by the party's own Executive. Dr. Sant could not stand seeing fingers pointed at him and his close team.
Regrettably, he still does not have any regrets.
Why me? Try to convince Muscat Peter and the best of luck!
The problem is not that the PN are experts in lies, half thruths, etc. and the Maltese people are ignorant. The problem is that so far Malta never really had a valid alternative government and thus it kept voting always the same party. Last March many didn't even bother to collect their voting documents, meaning that they were fed up of the PN but didn't really want Labour. To sum up, the PN shouldn't be that happy because during these last few years they won because Labour were incapable of winning 'impossible to lose 'elections. Labour should pull up their socks and work hard to show the people that they mean business and are better than the PN. The latest surveys are showing Muscat's trust rating among the electorate better than Gonzi, something which Sant never managed to get.
You must have a very low opinion of the intelligence of the Maltese electorate if these thousands can be collectively bamboozled on so many fronts by a "sanctified" and prodigiously "expert" PN. May be you should help them out with more samples of your uniquely superior excellent knowledge as exhibited in your comments!
Many ventured to analise the reasons why the MLP failed once again at last General elections. Many valid reasons were forwarded.
Here is a MOST VALID REASONS why the MLP didn’t make it at last General elections:
1. The PN are EXPERSTS in POLITICAL DISHONESTY.
2. The PN are EXERTS in EMPTY PROMISES.
3. The PN are EXPERTS in HALF TRUTHS.
4. The PN are EXPERTS in DELIVERING MISINFORMATION.
5. The PN are EXPERTS in SUPPRESSING THE TRUTH.
6. The PN are EXPERTS in EXPLOITING THE WEAK & THE NEEDY.
7. The PN are EXPERTS in RIDING OTHERS’ HORSES.
8. The PN are EXPERTS in DIVERSIONS.
9. The PN are EXPERTS in ALL SORTS OF POLITICAL ILEGALITIES an lastly but not LEAST
10. The PN are EXPERTS IN SACRIFICING EVEN THEIR LOVED ONES FOR POWER.
No honest person can ever challenge the ABOVE SANCTIFIED ATTRIBUTES OF THE PN!
Mr Martinelli your political history books are founded on Lies, Half truths, Misinformation and suppression of the Truth.
This time, however, one hardly sees the purpose, since either way, the LP's credibility takes another dive!
To make up for my insensivity I had posted a translation of the Maltese version on the previous article. With sincere apologies.