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Sleeping Bitches & Galliano

A serialised long post intended to reassure readers that while we normally let sleeping dogs lie there is no reason to believe that we are reluctant to call a spade a spade.

N.B. To be read in doses. Reminder to Daphne-lites: You are free not to read on. On the other hand the breaking down into parts of this post is intended to facilitate cutting and pasting for better presentation while posting in other blogs’ comment sections.

I

The intellectual standards of this too-complicated-for-plebs blog do not normally allow us (the Royal We for Wankellectuals) to descend into the pits of mud-slinging that can be discovered daily in other quarters of the Maltese blogging world.

Back in 2007 J’accuse (6 on the 10th of March) had a tough time moderating the bitching and haggling in the comment section. Having realised belatedly the usefulness of the new media (thanks to the eyeopening sessions on J’accuse in mid-election campaign) some of those commentators went on to open blogs  of their own… perpetuating their inimitable style developed in the comment section.

II

That was then. Meanwhile, we remained happy to discuss politics and not people, ideas and not looks, values not prejudices – all the while observing the development of the use of the new media. We continued to ask questions – in particular with regards to different parts of the Fourth Estate. Others chose what a colleague of mine called the Slash and Burn style of journalism – and got their accolades from their acolytes.

Today, I feel obliged to put up this post after a sincere demonstration of concern by readers who via e-mails and phone calls wondered whether I would ever reply to what appears to be a sudden fixation by Daphne Caruana Galizia on what she calls a “Class A Wanker” (actually she claims to have called me so several times bah… sticks, stones and girls in a playground).

III

I would normally have no time to check the lesser side of her blog – the Runs – having long abandoned any hope of finding any intelligent conversation by the various aliases. I have no problem with checking Daphne’s daily postings because I cannot honestly expect to comment on the internet news without taking into account other blogger’s points of view and slants on the news. I have no time to waste on the ramblings of the Daphne-lites in the comments section though and were it not for the signalling by J’accuse readers and a sudden mention in a post attacking an article by Saviour Balzan (but mainly based on the usual “guilt by association” approach – more on this later)  I would not have noticed the revival of the DCG fixation.

It transpires that a few Daphne-lites have been stoking the columnist’s easily flammable temper by posting interesting observations about myself or my blog. It also turns out that Daphne is stupid enough to think that I would actually post on her blog with an alias. I have never hidden behind an alias and never will. What did happen – as I confirmed by using common sense and a bit of research – is that a person who commented regularly on this blog (using his first name to boot), and who is based in Luxembourg, started to do so on Daphne’s (using the same first name).

The paranoid reaction to the endless nit-picking by this particular commentator was to send him back to “his own blog” to play. Yawn-inducing paranoia had come into play.

IV

Daphne and the Daphne-lites have a fixation with the unreadability of this blog. Incredibly they also have a knack of referring to it constantly. Does that classify as irony? Sadly for the rent-a-crowd in that corner of the net J’accuse shows no signs of abating and remains a steady reference point for the more balanced approach to analysing current affairs. (Did I mention that we turn 6 on the 10th of March?).

Of course our analysis might not always fit in to the jigsaw puzzle of the World as Seen from the Runs. Here are a few (unanswered) examples:

  • PLATEGATE or Why Now? Part 1: J’accuse was the ONLY presence in any part of the press asking the most pertinent question in the Daphne Caruana Galizia vs Consuelo Scerri Herrera saga. If Daphne had collected such a wealth of information over a long period of time alleging inappropriate behaviour by a Magistrate … what prompted her to start blogging about it?  Why did she choose that particular moment? Was it so hard to admit that it had nothing to do with civic conscience or journalistic probity? WHY NOW?
  • RAYMOND CARUANA or Why Now? Part 2: Almost a year passed and we had a similar situation. DCG upped the ante on Illum journalist Julia Farrugia. Suddenly more than 25 years after the actual facts DCG developed an acute sense of journalistic investigation and went on a whole trip piecing publicly available information together to develop a story. What you think about the story is irrelevant. Daphne’s timing is not. It is irresponsible to say the least. But very typical of journalism that is not at the service of the public and the truth. It is journalism at the service and use of private means and ends. I don’t buy the stories of Daphne being some poodle to RCC or some other masters bidding her to do this and that. What I do read is a very unprofessional and unethical application of journalistic skill. Why now indeed?
  • JPO: Funny how JPO is now accusing Daphne in court (under oath) of being a slave to political masters – ready to do some spin damage at their beck and call. J’accuse can vouch that Daphne was busy insulting anyone who dared criticise crocodile tear Jeffrey during the Mistra saga. She backed the nationalist party’s outright defence of the man even in such instances when he was given a press card to ask questions to Alfred Sant. Press decency my backside… the imperative was save Jeffrey… save the party. Especially from people who were “setting themselves up as objects of hate”… yep this was the time when Daphne heaped insults on anyone who dared propose that the PL/PN option was a blind, valueless cul-de-sac…. we would be vindicated come the divorce issue (among others).. but hey what counted was the character assassination at the time.

V

Taste. Daphne is big on guilt by association and character assassination. Who will ever forget the “zokk u fergha” campaign? Just look now at the Mintoff-Labour-Gaddafi saga as Daffers turns into a one-woman CNN of sorts reporting such great events as which flag is flying over the Libyan embassy in between harassing Graffiti poster carriers in wolf-in-sheeps’ clothing outfit.

The Saviour Balzan post referred to above was a clumsy attempt at throwing a number of perceived “nasties” together. Here’s the list of persons supposedly manning the barricades in some imagined revolution :

Salvu Balzan, Roger de Giorgio, JPO, the Prisoner of Zenda from Brussels, Matthew Vella, Al Jazeera Stagno Navarra, Choccies Benoit, Josanne Cassar, Secret Weapon Astrid, Julia tal-Guy, Charlon ta’ Albertown, xi Claire Bonello max-shag ta’ Norman Lowell, Ronnie Pellegrini, David Friggieri and Jacques Rene Zammit. Jason Micallef will man the field hospital and the Communications Coconut can be used to sneak messages below the radar across AnAmy lines. Don’t forget to take Reno Calleja with you, my dears, u xi AST ukoll ghax dak espert kbir fir-regimes. U jekk ghandkom bzonn xi covert operative, tinsewx li ghandkom il-Guy tat-Tunny Net.

 

Hospitals, covert operatives, regimes… jeez imagination does run wild at night doesn’t it? Oh Well, should our revolution ever need a kitchen stocked with such WMDs as crockery of the finest kind we know who to turn to don’t we?

In one fell swoop Jacques René Zammit is equal to Reno Calleja is equal to Ronnie Pellegrini is equal to Roger Degiorgio etc etc. It’s obvious. If you haven’t swallowed the “blog is unreadable” line then you might as well believe that Jacques Zammit, Reno Calleja, AST and Franco Farrugia (another one bandied around who I do not know from Adam) have one and the same objective.

Anybody who knows me or any of the above would know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Daphne is more comfortable avoiding subjects such as Plategate or constructive criticism of the faults in our representatives operation and chooses to build on the guilt by association. The frenetic, paranoid attempt at bunching everyone who she disagrees with into one caricatured bundle is much easier on the mind of her readers anyway.

That way she can let fire with the Wanker or unmarried or nerd or whatever she perceives as the latest trendy insult…

VI

So yes. We’ve taken some time to look at why Daphne has suddenly worried our readers with a few gratuitous insults aimed our way.

Read my lips (or my characters):

Jacques René Zammit has never insulted Daphne Caruana Galizia.

I have criticised her modus operandi. I have criticised her argument but I have NEVER insulted the person.

There must be something to be read in the fact that Daphne Caruana Galizia has never replied to any of the critical arguments posited here and elsewhere. If the answer, like her friend Lou’s is that she does not read the blog… that it is boring …it still does not explain the insults. If you chose to take note of criticism then you might as well have the decency to reply with counterarguments. Insults or character attacking with guilt by association does not help.

Don’t get me wrong. Insult as much as you like.. after all it is a free world and I am fully aware of the heat and kitchen argument. It’s just that it is good for readers to know where the insults are coming from and what they are all about. It goes without saying that the level of insults, inventions and character assassination attempts will be expected to increase over the coming days.

I’ll do my damn best not to bother much with anything coming my way from that corner of the net and I kindly ask readers to do the same. J’accuse goes on with its publish and be damned approach at blogging.

This wankellectual is almost done. Now for the finale… the answer you have all been waiting for:

VI

What is the difference between John Galliano and Daphne Caruana Galizia?

One tends to dress weirdly, hurl abusive insults in what sounds like an alcoholic rage and has a funny moustache when all made up…

…  the other was fired by Dior.

 

When they say let sleeping dogs lie… it doesn’t mean you have to allow them to twist the truth. – J’accuse 2011

 

ADDENDUM: Note to TYOM people. You will inevitably reproduce this post because it deals with your pet hate. I know it is useless “forbidding” you to do so because what is good for the goose is good for the gander but if you do so then also have the decency to publish this addendum:

J’accuse DOES NOT and WILL NEVER endorse, support or in any way agree with TYOM, its content or its style.This kind of site can only be a disservice to the idea of proper use of new media and to the proper development of political discussion.

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The Devil You Know

Joseph Muscat must be chewing his liver by now. The Libyan Crisis has propelled our Prime Minister back up in the popularity stakes thanks to the wonderful transformation of our island into the Florence Nightingale of the Mediterranean. After the early hesitant pussy-footing Prime Minister Gonzi took a stand in line with the UN, the EU and the major policy-makers of the West. The “neutrality” issue was only bandied about by remnants of the “That 70’s Show” that still tend to appear as uninvited warts in our political constellation.

Thankfully, Muscat’s labour distanced itself from the likes of Reno Calleja but it was already too late. Muscat had dilly-dallied and hedged his bets too far. He had once again proven himself to be a massive FAIL in the statesman department. All the better for Lawrence and his troops who could draw cheques on the well thought international reputation bequeathed by his nationalist predecessors. There is no doubt that on an international level most voters with a thinking head on their necks would prefer the consistency and statesmanship of Lawrence Gonzi any day.

Behind the Scenes

It’s not so airy fairy behind the scenes though is it? We may be passing through a moment when Facebook is full of Maltese of all colours and creeds declaiming their pride to be Maltese and joy to see their nation at the service of humanity and humanitarian activity. As shiploads and planeloads of escapees from Libya entered our air and sea ports we clapped enthusiastically and patted ourselves on the back for a job well done.

David Cameron stopped short of granting a new George Cross to the island (the reference to the first period of assistance by the Maltese was not so cryptic was it?) and US viewers got their umpteenth chance to discover that Malta was an “independent tiny island” in the Mediterranean (so we also got the publicity Joseph had crassly craved for).

But we kept smelling something fishy. For behind the statesmanlike dealing with the crisis there was an incredible volte-face at both a political and popular level. Just think of it. We were watching a boatload of 2,000 workers who had lost their job due to the events in a troubled nation. Few, if anybody, were calling for them to “Go Back to Their Country”. We were suddenly the most hospitable of nations – an oasis of opportunity.

What difference is there, I ask, between a boatload of Eritreans displaced by Civil War and a boatload of Chinese displaced by Civil War? The Chinese are going home I hear you say? Oh so that is what it takes does it? So what you  mean is that so long as we can wash our hands from the responsibility of safeguarding the human life ourselves then we are quite happy to don the nurse’s hat and play the hero. Is that it?

Libya no More

Until a few months ago we have seen boatloads of Sudanese, Eritreans and Somalis heading to our country. All we could think of was “Go Away”. When we panicked and when we could not draw the attention of the international community to our plight (hell, despite all efforts the Swedish foreign minister still finds claims of immigration exodus “an exaggeration”) we turned to those who offered an alternative: Muammar Gaddafi’s Iron Fist (with the connivance of Signor Maroni and the EU Commission).

We were happy to turn the boats back to Libya and then like the proverbial monkeys closed our eyes, ears and mouth as to the consequences. They were another people’s problem. So yes. Until a few months ago we bargained with Colonel Gaddafi of the “pills in Nescafe and Al Qaeda in Benghazi”. We asked the man who paid mercenaries to shoot on his own people, his own blood, his own nation to help us solve the illegal immigrant problem.

We trusted a mad man to provide us with a humanitarian solution. He obliged. Later he would come up with the 5 billion euro blackmail as the lives of thousands of persons became subject to a barter with a Europe that was too busy to care.

Still patting yourself on the back?

 


From OpenDemocracy.org:

EU migration control: made by Gaddafi?

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Unbelievable

They gathered today in Valletta for a peaceful demonstration of solidarity with Libya and the Libyans. They gathered to send a clear message to Muammar – Free Libya! There were Libyans and there were Maltese. There were politicians and there were journalists and opinion columnists and bloggers. And there were also members of Malta’s Moviment Graffiti. The Moviment members had prepared banners among which were banners with a photo of Malta’s Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi embracing Muammar Gaddafi. Under the photo was the word SHAME.  Another picture-less banner combined the names of Joseph Muscat and Lawrence Gonzi before the word SHAME.

The Moviment message was clear. They were not only showing their solidarity with the Libyan people but also expressing their thoughts on the leaders of this country who have entertained the Libyan oppressor in the past. Being the aggressive youth that they are they were more intent on “shaming” the leaders than on hanging their own heads in shame in the name of all the Maltese people who went along with their leaders. But hey – it’s their banner, their expression….

Enter the gurus of Maltese journalistic scene Lou Bondi and Daphne Caruana Galizia. The Times reports that they “protested immediately”. Against what exactly? Bondi is seen in the video telling an activist that “Qed tgerrex in-nies” (You are sending people away). What people exactly? People who cannot bear to be reminded that even their leaders coaxed the Libyan leader and did business with him? Who wants that kind of people in the protest anyway. Surely Daphne will agree. After all she has spent much of the last part of February reminding us of Labour’s not too cosy bedding with Muammar.

What sorry excuse were we to hear now? That the protest is in Solidarity with the Libyan people? Is that the same Libyan people that feel betrayed by the west and its governments and the dealings they have had with the oil rich nation to the detriment of its citizens? Is the solidarity just words? What bullshit.

Andrew Borg Cardona piled on the venom from his blog in the Times:

Would I have joined my friends Lou Bondi and Daphne Caruana Galizia in protesting at Moviment Graffiti’s cheap, childish, hypocritical, myopic and generally revolting little stunt? Their stunt cheapened not only Graffiti themselves, if cheapening what is now obviously worthless is even possible, but diluted, even if only very slightly, the cause they were pretending to uphold.

I’m still waiting for my comment on that particular blog post to appear but I’m not holding my breath. Childish, hypocritical, myopic? I wonder who’s who.

Duress

Much has being made of the unbelievable reports by some Maltese reporting from Tripoli. First there was Chris Fenech’s jaw-dropping interview with the Times and now there’s a Mario Micallef on l-Orizzont claiming that the situation in Tripoli is completely normal. I know Chris Fenech well enough to think that the man has a very reasonable thinking machine between his ears and I am more prepared to believe that his words were either misinterpreted or that his first interview was given under a state of shock.

Having said that however I am beginning to have the nagging suspicion that these Maltese interviewees are only telling half the story. Living in a controlled environment like Libya might have its perks (money, sun and sea) but it is still living under a regime all the same. I am not trying to make excuses for the confusing interviews here, I am just trying to understand. Is it possible that persons like Chris Fenech would not like to be quoted on the Times of Malta because they still have possessions in Libya that could be harmed?

Here is another person who is back from Tripoli writing today on facebook (40 minutes before I typed this post):

This is a message from a very dear friend of mine who is in her home in tripoli: shooting everywhere ****.. and some of the guys are hiding in our garden… pray for us … they are firing now ..please say it to everyone and everywhere.. we are underattack…

I’ve blanked out the name for a reason. This might just be the right time to protect the identity of persons who are reporting this information. Foreign news stations have interviewed people in Libya and people leaving Libya. More often than not their names are not given or false names are given instead. There must be a reason for that and if that reason is good enough for SKY, Al Jazeera and CNN then it should also be good for the bumblers at the Times.

 

 

 

The Libyan Opportunity – 4

Once we’re on an “I’m going to say it if nobody bothers” roll let’s talk about Air Malta. First of all a hand on heart expression of gratitude and admiration to the crews who manned the Air Malta flights into Tripoli to get passengers out of the revolution torn country. There’s no sarcasm, really, we admire them. They went “beyond their call of duty” as Minister Fenech said and volunteered for an act of personal sacrifice not without an element of danger. For that they deserve recognition and, as I said, gratitude.

Fine. That’s the honours. Now for the stark reality. Back in Malta the pilots and crew were treated to a deserved welcome by the Minister while the Labour side of the political divide croaked about the Great National Airline. Here’s Leo Brincat’s thoughts from facebook (his capitals not mine):

TGHID L-AIR MALTA GHAD TIBQA F’QAGHDA LI TAQDI IL-FUNZJONI SOCJALI LI QDIET F’DAWN L-AHHAR SIEGHAT B’TANT KBURIJA, FI- TRIPLI, FL-INTERESS NAZZJONALI, WARA LI TIGI MBICCRA BHALA LINJA NAZZJONALI TAL-AJRU MILL GVERN FUQ PARIR TAL KONSULENTI LI QED JITHALLSU E1 MILJUN FIX-XAHAR?

L-Ghasafar fic-Comb (birds in lead)

It’s all there isn’t it. The war story, the brave heroes acting beyond the call of duty and the capitalist villain earning €1 million while planning a cull of this brave workforce. Air Malta’s dreams have come true. Finally we have a reason to justify its running at a loss. From ghasafar tac-comb (lead (heavy) birds) they have transformed to the ghasafar fic-comb (birds that fly through lead) and boy are we not proud of them.So now we should ride over popular feeling and sentiment and take a huge dump on economic and accounting figures. Because you never know when the next revolution under a tinpot dictator will happen. You never know when the next revolution in a country full of Maltese expats can come about do you?

Well. To be fair there’s always Belgium. You know. The tinpot Walloons might declare war over the Vlams Frites and before you know it a valiant crew will be flying out the fonctionnaires from Zaventem amid the last minute rush. Or Luxembourg – whaddayouknow… a flight from Findel is always easier than a twenty minute drive to Belgium/France or Germany. Take your pick.

Sorry Leo. The butchery of the national airline is an exercise in downsizing based on economic realities that go far beyond the sudden emergency of a Libyan revolution. Funny how no one is mentioning that one particular possible saviour of AirMalta a few weeks ago could have been Ghaddafi himself. Anything goes eh?

Don’t get me wrong I love Air Malta and the service it provides. I am also resigned to the economic realities surrounding Air Malta. Without a national airline or a proper army plane to speak of Malta would just have to do what the Americans did with the ferries no? It’s called chartering planes. The cost of chartering planes in times of emergency would more than justify eliminating the bleeding accounts of a limping national airline. No?

Again, I have the huge suspicion that those who are most vociferous in promoting the “Brave AirMalta” campaign are those who stand to lose most from having the benefits and perks of our national airline cut off. It’s not the heroic pilots that they are going to miss… it’s the freebies and discounted flights.

 

The Libyan Opportunity – 3

A little blip in the series. I just got an idea. Not a revolutionary one but one that may help.  Ghaddafi’s government (we have to start distinguishing between Ghaddafi and the Libyans just as we did with the Nazis and the Germans at least so as to get to the simple minded among us) can block internet but can it block the good old radio waves? Whatever happened to the Voice of the Mediterranean? It was one of those fancy projects that ended in a very nationalist scandal towards the end.

The time might be ripe to set up the station and direct it’s waves towards the Maghreb peoples. Shared experiences, shared stories and stirring music from common cultures. Now, if ever, is there the need for such a station to coordinate and inform. Exiles could pitch in and use the radio to disseminate guides on safety. Let the Tunisians and Ehyptians and any other nation participate. Why not include Italians, Spanish and other Mediterranean nations and grasp this opportunity to create a solid building block on Mediterranean cooperation.

Carpe diem. Give the Jasmine Revolution a voice of its own – Malta owes it to the Mediterranean.

 

Libya agrees to liquidate VOM

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