Opinion
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Out of the box
I’m still trying to figure out how come I’ve never regaled you with tales about Johnny Depp, “the actor who can do no wrong”. What had started out as a girlish crush back in 1990, when Depp appeared in Edward Scissorhands, grew consistently over the...
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Some book suggestions
Tucked away at the bottom of an article in The Times last week was a precious gem of a news item which made me titter in my breakfast bowl. The anecdote talked of yet another ministerial surprise visit, this time at the ID Cards section of Evans...
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My travails: Damien Pantalerija Borg
Name: Damien Pantalerija BorgAge: 30ishOccupation: actor, musician, model, dancer, plumber. My best-ever trip... There are many, but one I can recall and laugh about now, was a little special at the time. This was my trip down the Amazon in a...
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Those doctors in the House
From the election result, you have to assume that the inner circles of both parties knew what was coming. A number like 35 K, in Maltese terms, is so massive it would be like the captain of the Titanic saying he didn’t see the ’berg. Oh, wait a...
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Bribery and genocide: the same?
I am pleased to note that the Government has announced new measures to fight corruption. A Bill before the House proposes “to remove the applicability of prescription to the offence of corruption” committed by a minister, a parliamentary secretary,...
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Abortion opposes right to life
Malta’s blanket ban on abortion has been criticised for at least a decade. Some say that, despite agreeing that a foetus enjoys the right to life, a blanket ban on abortion is not justified. This is a very thought-provoking statement that merits...
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Sustaining our growth sensibly
During the Budget debate, the Government was challenged to contain the deficit, which seems to have engorged, placing it above or, at least, close to the eurozone’s three per cent maximum. We probably all agree that it is the Government’s duty to...
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Disability and sexuality issues
We might have just have seen the first local report of a woman with intellectual disability becoming a mother. Please note these are women before anything else. On an international level she is not the first and will not be the last woman with...
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Terror strikes in Boston
For the family of Martin Richard, the eight-year-old boy killed by the terrorist attack in Boston on Monday, the tragic loss is everything. It must be the same for the family of Krystle Campbell, 29, who died as she waited at the finishing line for...
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A plea for national equilibrium
Notary Mark Sammut (Independence, Republic, Sovereignty, April 13) attributed the following statement to me: “A national day requires a historical legitimacy in time and context. It cannot be an artifact, or an egocentric whim followed by an...
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The PN’s roots and voice
As the Nationalist Party’s search for new leaders proceeds, the party is receiving plenty of public advice about the kind of identity it should adopt or recover. Most of the advice I’ve heard, however, has been wrong-headed or misleading. The...
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Those first strokes to success
I have been following the debate about illiterate children and the high percentage of students who are dropping out of school without the necessary reading and writing skills. Different reports quoted by different educational exponents point to a...
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Focus on human trafficking
This week, the European Commission presented its first report on human trafficking in the European Union covering the period from 2008 to 2010. In spring 2010, the Commission had made a proposal to tackle and prevent human trafficking. Following...
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Worrying fitness time bomb
The Times is to be congratulated for devoting an entire pull-out section to obesity and diabetes (Two Interlinked Illnesses, April 12), topics that richly deserve more open debate in order to increase awareness of them. A good question is whether...
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Greasing the machine
A bureaucracy has often been termed as a group of unelected officials whose task is the implementation of public policy in the most efficient way possible, a rather idyllic scenario advocated further by Weberian philosophy. But reality dictates...
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Strong, constructive Opposition
The conduct of the Nationalist Opposition in Parliament last week set an important precedent for the five years ahead of us. For the first time in recent political history, this year’s Budget was approved unanimously by both sides of the House. As...
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Regulators’ independence
Not all regulators in Malta are on the same footing in so far as their degree of independence from the Government is concerned. Some are more independent than others. For instance, there is no comparison between the constitutionally established...
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Farewell, champion of liberty
Today, the United Kingdom and the world bid farewell to a great champion of liberty, Margaret Thatcher, who did not just dominate British politics for more than a decade but achieved what is much more important. She changed Britain through her...
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Together we mean business
The University of Malta and the Malta Chamber Foundation recently signed a memorandum of un-derstanding (MoU) that recognises the ongoing relationship between the two and will provide a framework for colla-borative research, educational programmes,...
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Three days between friends
Last Saturday’s edition of Wikileaks’ Kissinger Cables series was about the controversy that raged, way back in 1975, about Malta’s National Day. The cable that was reproduced and which set off a little pang of nostalgia, read as follows: In this...
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