It's freedom of expression, folks, that's what it is - everyone and his sister can say what (s)he likes and it will be published, being damned or not. For every story that hits the news, there will probably be a counter-story hot on its heels and if there's a political slant to the thing, there's no "probably" to it.
So if the Minister of Finance comes out with a plan to try to get his hands on some of the cash that has been squirrelled away by the naughty, naughty people who thought paying income tax was optional, that was a story, but no sooner did the papers, virtual or real, publish it, than the variations on a theme started and everyone started making comments, inane or intelligent as the case may be.
Which is not a bad thing, because it keeps the minister, who I'm using simply as an example and not referring to Tonio Fenech in particular, on his toes, reminding him to take a longer view than he (and again, "he" is not Mr Fenech in particular, just any governing politician, and of whichever party) would be tempted to take if he or she thought he could get away with doing things that are immediately popular and hang the future.
The dynamic of ideas and counter-ideas is what makes democracy, bless its little cotton socks, tick, which is why freedom of expression is one of the most basic of freedoms and why despots hate it so much.
The sub-text to all this is that we, the people, are the ones who are the final arbiters of who to believe, faced with the veritable blizzard of ideas, facts, opinions, fabrications, obfuscations and statistics that hits us in the face every time we open the paper or click on the portal.
Thus, do we believe BirdLife Malta when they tell us about hunters breaking the law and acting like thugs or do we believe the federation of hunting conservationists (perambulating oxymorons that they are) who tell us that BLM is making all this up to make us forget that the ECJ didn't, actually, ban spring hunting? Or whatever it was that the ECJ didn't do.
I'm perfectly prepared to concede that the Grand Poobahs of the FKNK, for it is with these initials that the conservationist hunters identify themselves, are not, themselves, hunters of anything. I'm also prepared to concede that they even believe their own press releases, when they say what it is they say about their interlocutors.
But, as a simple consumer of the stream of information pumped in my direction, I reserve the right to make my own mind up about who I am prepared to believe and, in this instance, given our collective experience with the mass of hunters and their perceived respect for the law, I'm afraid I'll have to come down on the side of believing BirdLife when it comes to judging the extent to which the rule of this particular law is respected by the hunting fraternity which, sadly for it, has its reputation tarnished by those among the band of brothers who do not give a darn about acting in a civilised manner.
Pulling a subject swerve of neck-wrenching abruptness, allow me, if you will, a quick swipe at the people who thought it would be fun to get at me on Astrid Vella's Facebook page.
Ms Vella put up a status, last Sunday, laying down the law about how EU funds that had been intended for the St John's project should be "diverted" to other projects, such as fixing Fort St Angelo.
In and of itself, not a bad notion but it doesn't work like that and I put up a comment about how it wouldn't be a bad idea if she ran for election and tried to do something effective. I then deleted it because I didn't feel like getting a notification every time someone added some breathless paean of praise to the Sainted One to the comments (it's the way Facebook works) and it wasn't an earth-shatteringly important comment, anyway, for all that it was perfectly reasonable.
So, you see, folks, that's the only reason the comment disappeared. Sorry to disappoint you and all that: I just didn't feel like interacting with you any more, nothing else. And my own Facebook page is still there, too, sorry about that.
Quick mention for the benefit of the people who only read this for the food segment: the Diamond Jubilee in Xaghra Square is a fun place to spend an evening or for Sunday lunchtime drinks. The staff is run off their feet but they never seem to lose their sense of humour.
imbocca@gmail.com, www.timesofmalta.com/blogs