Jacques René Zammit

  • Fu*king Censorship

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    They’re at it again. There’s a sector of our so-called “artistic community” who insist on operating strictly on terms that equate their freedom of expression to some school project approved by teacher and headmaster. Already when the Stitching case first came to light we had many a protest about “the death of expression” and mock…

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  • He cannot be serious

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    Joseph Muscat’s reaction following the budget must qualify as one of the most unpredictable reactions ever. You’d expect him to state that this budget was a bloated cornucopia of pre-electoral gifts. You’d expect him to state that he did not believe the government would take it seriously given that Franco Debono’s (and don’t forget the…

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  • Elephants, rooms and budgets

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    This budget is as much about the elephant in the room as it is about financial measures and planning. We came to the budget after almost a full calendar year of “will he, won’t he” insofar as Franco Debono was concerned and we had the extra leverage by the man who will henceforth be called…

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  • L-Ewropa ta’ Toni u Fred (II) – In-* Tagħna

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    Mela Tonio issa sar Kummissarju Ewropew u s-Saħħa għandha prominenza kbira fil-portfoll tiegħu. Id-dagħdiha u skambju ta’ kliem bejn elementi liberali u konservattivi laħqet il-quċċata tal-attiża nhar l-interrogatorju parlamentari tal-kummissarju deżinjat sabiex ftit wara waqqhet fuq fommha meta għadda mill-eżami tal-vot. Tħallu lil ħadd jitnejjek bikom. Il-proċess ta’ skrutinju innifsu kien neċessarju u leġittimu –…

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  • L-Ewropa ta’ Toni u Fred (I)

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    Xtaqt nibda billi inkellimkom dwar Tariq Ramadan. Huwa doċenti universitarju ġewwa l-universita ta’ Oxford fejn huwa professur ta’ l-istudji iżlamiċi kontemporanji (Kulleġġ ta’ St Antony ġewwa l-istitut ta’ l-istudji orjentali). Ramadan ma hux biss professur universitarju għax hu ukoll persunalita medjatika bi preżenza qawwijja fuq il-mezzi tax-xandir dinjija (mis-CNN sa Al-Jazeera sa TV Iranjani) fejn sikwit…

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  • The Hidden Hand, Fundamentalist Liberals and other tales

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    Something strange happened in parliament yesterday. George Vella meant to congratulate Tonio Borg for his appointment to the post of Commissioner and apparently did so. In doing so though he came up with some weird theory about a “hidden hand” that could have been behind John Dalli’s resignation (so he did resign?) and the opposition…

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