Library

Serenissimo (I.M. Back)

We’re back from a five day stint in La Serenissima. Two days of sun and three days of windy drizzle turned out to be a relaxing (and eventful) holiday. More about the eventful part later. There’s loads of bloggable news to be seen to after the break  but we thoroughly enjoyed switching off from the world for a little while. There’s been all sorts of items to comment upon from the sublime (Juve beat Milan) to the terrific (Tottenham uncovered the intercettato true colours) to the worrying (a parcel bomb addressed to the ECJ). Obama’s lost his majority in Congress, Labour has lost its cool with photoshop and Berlusconi’s just lost it. His latest foray into the world of political bumbleness included the statement of “better someone who likes women than a gay”. What will continue to baffle is the manner in which thousands of people will still vote for the midget on high heels even after this kind of gaffe. Still, politics has a way of suprising us doesn’t it? I’m looking forward to catching up on Tonio and Friends….
Accompanying photo is of a t-shirt spotted in a shopwindow in Venice. Subliminal advertising? It was a bridge or two away from a huge graffiti stating in no uncertain terms: “Lega merda”. Serenissima indeed.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Budgetary Woes

I’d almost apologise for not commenting on the budget but then again there is not much to comment about nowadays. Reactions to the budget could have been predicted much before Tonio Fenech opened his mouth and in any case J’accuse has never professed to be an expert in matters economical. Reactions to the budget on social networks served to prove that the critical mass of our voting population have been overfed clichés so many times that they are quite capable of spouting them back when requested “budget responsabbli” must have clinched the winning vote for the ayes. On Labour’s side, the realbudget.com gimmick turned out to be simply the yawn inducing assessment of what was not there. How else can you explain Labour’s obstinate refusal to factor, ever so slightly, the EU economic scenario into the context?

One of the most intriguing part of the budget is the increase in VAT on tourism to 7%. While the private sector began its whinge fest about how this would destroy the tourism industry nobody seemed to be aware of the fact that the European tourist industry is folding upon itself. Thomas Cook, one of the largest tour operators has recently communicated to its partners that it will be unilaterally deciding not to pay 5% of what it had promised. It was an offer they could not refuse for in the industry, the bulk provided by Cook is enough of an incentive for the receivers to hang on to Cook notwithstanding its bullying ways.

For a country that claims to be heavily dependent on tourism we seem to be surprisingly slow on adapting to the European mood and insist on depending on what we deem to be the veritable gold mine of mass supply from the likes of Birmingham, Manchester and Luton. Air Malta’s reaction to the budget was to downsize the number of flights to and from the UK – with the impact that 38,000 beds will not be filled come next summer.

Malta’s absence from hot deal sites that cater for DIY tourists from all over the world and the reluctance to explore new routes to the more stable parts of Europe really have me flummoxed.

Another point that has me even more confused is our inability to cater for the pension bomb more directly. Luxembourg has just calculated that the current rate of 14% of the population will change to 1 in every four persons being a pensioner over the next 50 years. I am sure Malta is not far behind on that ratio. While our current crop of politicians have proven diligent enough to steer the cake clear from the poorlands of the economic crisis, both government and opposition seem too tied to short-term gains (in the opposition case it is short-term fantasies coupled with irresponsible planning) to have an eye on the big picture.

Still. You reap what you sow don’t you. Remember that next time you vote PLPN.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

i

You’ve got to love it. I hope the consumers love it. It’s the Independent (UK)’s new offshoot paper called simply “i”. Launched today and costing just 20p per copy it is aimed at what the newspaper is calling “time-poor” people. The trademark of the paper will be brevity and simplicity for persons who are in too much of a rush for the full monty. I am a huge fan of the UK Independent on Sunday and have recently stopped purchasing the Sunday Times (again UK) altogether since I found that the ST was just burying my sitting room in useless paper without much content. The UK Indy on the other hand has reams of relevant information and articles that are just right for a Sunday read.

In Luxembourg we already have two free papers distributed daily at special access points that provide the same service as “i”. These are L’essentiel and Point24, both of which have a strong internet presence and look more like e-papers turned into print rather than vice-versa. Is this the future of print? Will the “time-poor” reader have more of a say in the evolution of reported news? Until we get some answers to these questions we should enjoy the marketing campaign for “i” that toys playfully with the word “i” :

i is 20p

i gets to the point

i doesn’t do information overload

i is all you need in the time you have

Brilliant innit?

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Pompidou

Last Saturday we tripped off to the military town across the border. Well it is military no more and ever since the Franco-German hostilites over Alsace-Lorraine cooled down the city of Metz has been trying to reinvent itself. The Centre Pompidou inaugurated this year goes a long way in placing the beautiful city back on the map of “visitable” destinations in France. Metz is hoping to have the “Bilbao effect” in this quiet north-east corner of the hexagon.

It’s worth visiting. Not just for the Pompidou centre but also for the magnificent cathedral, for the lovely architecture that is a mélange of the attempts of the French/German occupiers to stamp their imprint on this outpost. If you do visit this corner of the world then you would not be amiss to try out the Italian restaurant on Place de Paris in Luxembourg called “La Voglia Matta“. They have an incredible choice of pastas – with the additional benefit of a copious choice of home made gluten-free pastissimi. I’m in love with the gf gnocchi quattro formaggi or the sugo di cinghiale.The restaurant is also worth visiting because of the kitschy fifties decor and magnificent view over Avenue de la Liberté – book a window seat to really enjoy the experience!

Skip dessert at the restaurant (you’ll have no space for it anyway) and drive/bus to the City Concorde in Bertrange for one of the best ice-creams on the face of this planet. It’s another Italian establishment called Franky. My favourite is a fiordilatte/chocolate mix though you cannot be disappointed by any of the tastes on sale.

The Pompidou Photoshoot (feat. LL & the innocent bystanders):

CMB and the Marriage Certificate

There’s a logical leap in Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici’s article in today’s Times (The burden of public interest on indissolubility of marriage) that has escaped the attention of the many anti-divorce campaigners who have been linking the article all over facebook. CMB is eager to explain the stake the state has within the boundaries of private marriage – he has to be clear why the state believes in the tool of indissolubility as being the best bet for civil society’s sanity. To get to the point of arguing on the importance of indissolubility of marriage for the public interest, CMB has to justify the interference of the state in the first place: why does the state care whether or not marriage can be dissolved or not?

Aha. And that is where the quick gloss by CMB is glaringly obvious. CMB tells us:

The state should not in any way be involved in the decision to enter into that union and in the choice of marriage partners. The state registers a marriage and recognises certain rights of the parties.

This is not to say that the state has no stake in the stability of marriage, because it is within stable marriages that its future citizens are nurtured and brought to maturity in the best possible way and because the spouses in a stable marriage are not distracted unduly from their normal civilian working life.

Q.E.D. right? Not really. If you really were to follow CMB’s logic to its conclusion then the first part of his statements is built on a deceitful assertion. The state cannot suddenly develop an interest in the success or otherwise of a marriage ONLY once it has been sealed. CMB feigns a passive role of the state until the marriage union is sealed – it recognises the union and certain rights of the parties. Then – only then – according to CMB does the state develop a stake in the stability of marriage. This stake is supposedly because the spouses should not be distracted unduly from their civilian working life.

Why not before the union then? What stops the state from ensuring that its stake in the civil union is safeguarded? How? Well by making sure that its citizens about to engage in the union are fully prepared to do so – that they can guarantee a stable marriage that “nurtures and produces the maturity that does not distract from their civilian working life”.

If CMB were serious about the role of the state as he describes it, then his kind of logic would lead to marriage permits and marriages being sanctioned by the state. The state would be able to tell you whether or not you are allowed to marry in the first place – based on suitability. If the state’s role is in trying to ensure the stable, mature etc marriage then it should do so in full. Imagine that. Imagine criteria for stable marriages – the certificate of a suitable wife and husband who will contribute to society.

It would not work would it? And maybe that’s the very same reason why the state has no business imposing indissolubility on the marriage contract. It cannot decide for the parties if they are willing to move on and try again. CMB’s logic is false because it is built on a false assertion about the motives of the state. The problem of CMB is that his logic is in a twist because no amount of legal philosophy will justify the denial of divorce rights. He cannot declare his ultimate motivation at the end of the day because it has nothing to do with laws and civic duty. It is a fettered discretion based on his private beliefs.

Reporters Sans Frontières

NGO Reporters Sans Frontières has released the 2010 Press Freedom Index. You can find this index by clicking here. Surprisingly, given the weird goings on in the field of censorship in the island over the past year, Malta’s performance is quite good. It features in the 14th place overall – which is excellent to be honest. Which got J’accuse thinking. How exactly is the information compiled? More importantly who compiles it? By following the link you can also se the pdf documents explaining what questions were asked of each country and how the questions were scored (marked). What we do not know is what answers were given for Malta.

Before you go ballistic, we are not trying to imply that Malta is some sort of third world state with no real press freedoms but think of these points:

1) Censorship of Realtà magazine

2) Dearth of investigative journalism on TV and press

3) the absence of independent TVs

4) the strong presence of establishment points of view and barriers to the market penetration

5) lack of scrutiny of such programmes as exist (they can afford to bumble on in limbo)

6) The facility with which a politician can be classified as a pressman for the purposes of political propaganda (see JPO)

7) the weakness of the freedom of information and data protection acts

8) the farcical conditions and conditioning with which our politicians allow scrutiny of their acts (can you really investigate a politician or must you submit to the conditions for interview?)

There’s more. But it does make you wonder who is sending the info to RSF. Who exactly made Malta sound like an idyllic state where the press is performing its functions of the fourth estate and fourth guardian of democratic principles? Interesting questions no?

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta