One story thrown up in the Ferragosto heat is that of Miller Distributor’s refusal to carry an edition of Dazed Magazine. Apparently it is because of an osé picture of Azalea Banks blowing up a condom. This is the ultimate non-story that risks being blown out of proportion (apologies for the pun). Miller Distributors is a commercial enterprise. Not the Church. Not the Government. It’s a commercial enterprise. They import and distribute most of the international press that reaches the Maltese shelves (when they’re not printing it). So if Miller decides it will not import one magazine or another then it is a commercial decision. The basis of the commercial decision is irrelevant – it still should have commercial consequences.
An irritated consumer would probably have the ultimate luxury in a free market – that of opting to no longer buying goods imported by Miller. A boycott. Would it work? Of course not. Particularly given the lions’ share of the market that Miller enjoys. Alternatively you could switch to other ways of obtaining your fare – the internet has worked wonders for that: just look at the Newsstand app for ipads and its android equivalents. I am subscribed to the Economist and the UK Times online and do not depend on any distributor to decide what I can or cannot read.
It’s not censorship though. What Miller is doing will just reflect on Miller and that’s that. Frankly I tend to agree with most commentators – that Miller’s sudden bout of overzealousness is ridiculous. In this day and age it was inevitable that the blocked image would be given more prominence via the net and other media. So why bother with a selective ban when you are also carrying 50 Shades of Grey to your bookshelves?
I’ll just put it down to summer nonsense. Now go have fun… and blow your own condom.
L-aħħar li kont fil-gżira erġajt skoprejt il-pjaċir tal-orżata. Proprjament skoprejt il-pjaċir tal-granita tal-orżata. Ħsiebi mar lura għal żmien ieħor, għal Marsalforn ieħor. Kien iż-żmien li issa huwa ikkundanat għal nostalġija propagandistika iżda xorta jibqa żmien sabiħ. Qabel ma waslet l-invażjoni tal-ġelati ta’ barra, qabel ma kellna il-Magnum, il-Cornetto u il-Cucciolone l-għażla kienet pjuttost lokali.
Kont tixtri ġelat tal-Lyons Maid – u għadni konvint sa llum li ċ-cikkulata tagħhom kien l-itjeb. Jew tagħżel minn għażla kulurita tal-ġelati tal-Wembley – fosthom il-mitiku Screwball… ġelat kremuż tal-vanilla b’xi ġulepp imħallat miegħu u fil-qiegħ issib il-bubble gum. Pjaċir immens. 8 ċenteżmi kollox. U oqgħod attent bl-imgħarfa tal-imjam għax taf tibla’ xi skalda. Kien hemm oħrajn tajbin, minbarra ovvjament il-famużissimu u irrimpjazzabbli ġelat tal-magna Carpigiani – li illum issib wieħed tajjeb mingħand tal-Granola fil-Menqa ta’ Marsalforn (fejn spjegawli ukoll li ma jġibux ġelati tal-islice “Għax jinbiegħ malajr wisq”). Kien hemm – għal min jiftakar r-Rabat fis-sajf – il-ġelat sublimi ta’ Lola ta’ wara’ San Ġorġ. Festival ta’ kremożita’ u togħma qisha manna mill-ġenna.
Iżda fuq kollox kien hemm il-granita. Granita tal-Wembley. Stajt, jekk kont amateur, tieħu dik tal-frawli jew tal-lumi. Imma jekk vera trid tgħid li tħobb il-granita m’hemm xejn isbaħ minn dik tal-lewż – l-orżata iffrizata. Kullħadd bit-teknika tiegħu. Min jaqleb il-bott ta’ taħt fuq u erħilu jigdem, u min iħaffer bl-imgħarfa. Kull min igawdi mill-pjaċir bnin tal-granita mitluf fi ħsibijiet sublimi.
Das-sajf ħadt erba’ jew ħamsa… kważi kollha mingħand taċ-Ċirasa il-Qbajjar (illum Qbajjar Restaurant – irrikorru għal ħut impekkabbli). Saru jagħmluh b’lewn ħadrani minflok abjad imma tajjeb għadu. Ġejt lura Lussemburgu u mort dritt sas-supermarket (Match) u fittixt l-essenza tal-lewż. Sibtu, bil-Franċiż jissejjaħ orgeat. Ħallatt buqar minnu u tfajt erba tazzi fil-friġġ. Ilbieraħ kilt l-ewwel wieħed.
Tagħlaq għajnejk u tilmaħ il-Qolla s-Safra mill-bogħod. Issa jonqos biss li insib mod inġib il-baħar hawn ukoll.
Għaddew Olimpijadi oħra. Il-Brittanniċċi saħħruna għal darb’oħra bir-rikkezza ta’ pajjiżhom u bil-għana ta’ l-istorja millenarja ta’ gżirithom. Kienu inkwetaw li ma humiex se jkunu “up to standard“. Inkwetaw li wara l-immensita Ċiniza kienu se jidhru ċkejknin u amatorjali. Minflok kull min seta’ jixhed iċ-ċerimonji ta’ ftuħ u għeluq l-Olimpijadi kellu mafkar tajjeb ta’ dak li jissarraf fih il-kunċett ta’ Gran Bretanja. Lejn l-aħħar ta’ l-egħluq kien hemm siparju sabiħ fejn żeffiena Indjani tħalltu ma Morris Dancers f’taħlita kulturali li tiżboq il-preġudizzji u nazzjonaliżmi u li tfakkarna fil-kobor post-imperjali li issawwar fuq pedamenti differenti filwaqt li żamm sod fuq il-wirt storiku.
Il-Brittaniċi għandhom il-lussu li jqiegħdu lil the Queen, Pink Floyd u John Lennon f’nifs wieħed. Għaddieli il-ħsieb li fuq storja millenarja ta’ żvilupp uman aħna kellna x-xorti/żvintura li ngħixu l-biċċa l-kbira mill-ħajja kulturali u soċjali tagħna f’dinja anglo-ċentrika. Jekk tieħu l-popolazzjoni kollha ta’ ġnus li qatt għexu, ftit ħafna ikunu dawk li qatt semgħu b’McCartney u Lennon pero illum dawn l-ismijiet huma simboli ta’ l-era post-nukleari li għadna ngħixu illum avolja ftit li xejn għadna nirreferu għaliha.
Midalji Qoros
Fit-tabella tal-midalji li intrebħu żdiedu xi uċuħ ġodda. F’għajnejja jispikka ċ-Ċipru. M’huwiex xi pajjiż li wisq jispirani f’sens nazzjonalistiku minħabba dak illi jiena nara bħala nuqqas ta’ kburija kull meta jiġru biex jilgħaqu sorm il-Griegi. Qatt ma ħabbejt il-ħsieb li nitkejlu maċ-Ċiprijoti għax dejjem rajthom appendiċi imwarrba ta’ pajjiż ikbar. Aħna mhux hekk, anzi, aħna għandna ħabta naspiraw dejjem biex nikkompetu… jew talanqas nipparteċipaw bi spirtu faux de Coubertjan. Aħna l-innu tagħna u tagħna biss. Aħna l-bandiera tperper u ferħanin għax “Ara, ara… għaddejin il-Maltin fuq it-televixin”. Imma biex nirbħu? Ħożż fl-ilma.
Għandi suspett li l-isport jirrefletti xi ftit jew wisq il-limitazzjonijiet tagħna bħala pajjiz. Pajjiż li ilu kważi nofs ta’ seklu indipendenti iżda li baqa magħluq sewwa bejn l-erba ħitan akkwatiċi li jdawwruna. Pajjiż diffidenti li ma jafx jekk jifraħx bil-barrani (sakemm jibqa sterjotippizzat, ħlejju u preferibbilment mhux Għarbi) jew jinsultah b’xi “jekk ma jogħgbokx itlaq”. Irnexxilu, minkejja kollox isir parti minn klabb ferm ikbar minnu u jpoġġ mal-istess mejda ta’ qawwiet u forzi storiċi. Sabiħa wisq. Kburi li Malti? U mela le.
Imma x’inhuma is-simboli ta’ kobortna? L-isterjotipi hemm qiegħdin.. l-ilsien li tatna ommna, l-wirt storiku ta’ nies li għaddew u għal min għadu nisrani mhux biss ta’ l-isem il-kattoliċiżmu Mediterran. Kważi kważi pero dawn iktar huma karatteristiċi milli monumenti għall-ħila ta’ pajjiż. Hemm hi. Ħarbitli l-kelma. Ħila. Kapaċita. F’hiex u għal xiex aħna tajbin? L-isport storja tal-biki. Ibellħuni il-Magjari… l-Ungeriżi biex niftehmu. Ġejjin minn pajjiż imdawwar biss b’art u ħlief għal kbir Danubju ilma xejn. Imma hemm ikunu… fil-quċċata Olimpika tal-għawm, tal-qbiż mill-għoli u fuq kollox f’dak l-imbierek Waterpolo. Iva il-waterpolo.
Xejn. Lanqas nifs. Nistgħu indumu inżeggu bid-derby Sliema – Neptunes u nsarrfu għall-elf darba il-kampaniliżmu tagħna f-munita oħra ta’ għira u ġlied… imma Malta magħquda? Malta żobb. U mhux waterpolo biss. Ara il-karajbi – xi gżejjer żgħar qishom nofs ħarja ta’ ħamiema imtektin madwar Kuba u l-kbar. Imbagħad joħorġulek ġganti li jiġru b’impenn. U mhux impenn tal-billboards. “Imma dawk għandhom il-flus… jinvestu fl-isport mhux bħalna”. Appuntu baħnan. Aħna fejn investejnihom il-flus?
U imbagħad semmi l-flus lil Stephen Kiprotich. Min? Iva Kiprotich. Rebaħ l-ikbar midalja fl-Olimpijadi… deheb fil-maratona. Kiprotich jiġi mill-Uganda. Iva l-Uganda fejn il-Maltin intbagħtu eżilju mill-Ingliżi. Familtu bdiewa u mhux li kellu ħafna flus biex jikkompeti. Imma Kiprotich kellu bżonn biss par saqajn jiġru u rieda u impenn. Rebaħ il-maratona… tellieqa dominata mill-ġganti tad-distanza – dawk l-Emiri u Xejikki tal-Kenja u l-Etjopja. Taf int. Dawk jgħumu fil-flus.
Medjokrita
Forsi mhux ġust li nippretendi pajjiż li jirbaħ midalji. Forsi mhux ġust li nippretendi pajjiż li mhux biss jipparteċipa imma li huwa ukoll konxju tal-impenn neċessarju sabiex tasal u tirnexxi. Mhux ġust għax forsi fil-ħamsin sena li ilna naqdfu waħedna flok tgħallimna nikkompetu b’mod san li jippremja lil min ħaqqu ħloqna biss illużjoni ta’ kompetizzjoni. F’din l-illużjoni jiġi ippremjat il-medjokri. Bqajna nitkejlu biss bejnietna u allura l-ġganti u personalitajiet tal-pajjiż nofs ħarja fil-Mediterran komplew jiċkienu u jonqsu fl-istatura.
Iż-zgħażagħ Brittaniċi inħolqilhom panteon ta’ eroj oħra li jistgħu jaspiraw ikunu bħalhom. Għaż-żgħażagħ tagħna x’qed jissawwar? Il-ħolma tal-Middle Class? Aspira biex tkun medjokri. Il-ħolma li jekk tgħid iva u taċċetta bla ma taħseb u jekk tippappagalja allura taf tasal u tilħaq. Aspira għall-medjokrita. Kisser l-ideal.
F’dan il-pajjiż ma nsolvux problemi. Nindukrawhom.
Just imagine. The tax collector comes round and you tell him “Dude, I’m experiencing cashflow problems, mind if I pay you later?” No need to get that extreme. Just imagine checking out at the till of your supermarket and when the uber-bored guy at the till robotically announces the amount (and points to the five million packs of free water that you have just “won”) you tell him “Righto, I’ll pack the water but I’ll pay you next month… if I find the cash”.
It’s not done is it? You rent a place to run a restaurant or a strip joint, whatever, and you are expected to cough up the rent. Pronto. No rent and you are evicted. You don’t pay your water and electricity bills and you find yourself showering at the neighbours (if they can tolerate the mess you leave behind).
Except of course if you’re a political party. Ever since the PLPN decreed that “pluralism” (whatever happened to that word that used to be uttered like some magic mantra) would be showered on the expectant peoples, and ever since the likes of 101, SuperOne, Net TV and OneTV were unleashed on us the parties have had the lion’s share of broadcasting on the islands.
It is no secret that quality wise this increase in “competition” has been of no benefit whatsoever to the consumer. Given the talent gene pool limitations it would be hardly surprising should this island sustain one good quality TV structure (broadcasting corporation) branching out into specialised channels. Instead we have the two political channels lording it out and churning out Malta’s worst – thankfully in a language that is only intelligible to the island’s converted insiders.
Now we have the Malta Broadcasting Authority openly admitting that: “over the years, the Authority has taken cognisance of the fact that most national broadcasting stations face cash flow problems – from time to time situations have arisen on certain occasions where stations have fallen behind in their payments.”. Which is quite a polite way of saying that more often than not the public secret ends up being the factual truth: our political parties couldn’t give a flying armadillo whether or not they afford to pay the €15,000 or so needed annually for a broadcasting licence.
Why should they? Who will have the guts to shut them and their operations down? This is a country that constitutionally takes the existence of a bi-party system for granted. It encourages the obvious inefficiencies of an inexistent competition – and this battle for the mediocre ground spreads from values, to business, to ideas and creativity to markets.
As I said in a previous post – and I think this will be J’accuse’s seasonal motto:
In this country we do not solve problems. We nurture them.
How many more times will we see taxis speed through the streets of Paceville as though their life depended on rounding the next corner like a crazy Le Mans driver? I went out for dinner with the family in our home urban conglomerate yesterday and walking back home past Burger King in the direction of Wembley (Saint George’s Road) at least three white taxis sped past us without any concern for pedestrians.
In every case, without fail, the taxi driver would have one hand on the wheel and another on his phone – deeply engaged in conversation. Hands free? Why? All the talk about the PN’s strong fist with all things transport and yet the Taxi Drivers Inc (the white taxis) still rule the land in Paceville. The area opposite Burger King is their territory. Double, triple, parking and the walls of the former Enemalta building used as a latrine.
Cowboys of the road and harassers of tourists. That is all they are. Will someone -administration, police or whatever – be strong enough to get some order with these energumens? I doubt it. Venture in any city abroad and taxis stick to their designated places. If you need a taxi, you walk to the taxi stand. The taxi does not plonk itself in the middle of the most vibrant part of the area only to zoom away at turbo speed in what should be a maximum 15 km/h zone.
Hope? My guess is that the taxi drivers are probably mostly part time canvassers for some politician or other. Given the trend in that department it would hardly be surprising.
In this country we don’t solve problems. We nurture them.
It’s unbelievable. Joseph Muscat has gone on record stating that AST’s article was “an academic exercise”. What exactly is that supposed to mean? Is it to be ignored because “academia” is just an exercise in mental masturbation? Is Anton Refalo’s article in today’s Independent academic too? Should academia be dismissed in favour of the more “erudite” rantings of Joseph and his clan?
Let’s face it Joseph. At the end of the day the political chessboard has spoken. The PN is fully aware of the fact that it cannot rely on the votes of some of its MPs for much longer. That is why it “survived” the pre-estival votes and parliament is now in recess. This recess has delivered the obvious reality that the country is in full election mode: just look at the recent Billboard War. This recess will end with a few attempts at legislating that will inevitably culminate in a vote of confidence sooner rather than later.
What does that mean in real terms? It means that the PN is very aware that the present legislature and government has its days counted. What the PN does not do is erode at the legitimacy of the rule of law and the foundations of democratic government by constantly farting spurious arguments about “undemocratic government” that betray a clear will to ignore the rules of the game. Labour on the other hand is lost repeating the mantra of the obvious – clearly more comfortable in the “non-academic” field of conjecture so long as that means staying away from presenting its plan for government should it get elected.
Now Joseph has no qualms in belittling the importance of “academic” arguments so long as he can gain more brownie points in the land of spin, conjecture and away from the tangible battles that should be the real battleground in the run-up to an election.
Incidentally Joseph, if Sciberras Trigona’s exercise was an academic exercise in, say, constitutional law, he’d be sitting in his little study sweating out over his notes prepping up for the September resit. Yes, Joseph, even his academic piece was an abject failure.
Labour leader Joseph Muscat has sidestepped the implications of an article penned by his international secretary, Alex Sceberras Trigona, saying the piece claiming the government had lost its “constitutional legality” was an academic exercise.
Asked if Dr Sceberras Trigona’s analysis reflected his position, Dr Muscat said he would rather focus on the political implications of the current “unsustainable” scenario and added that it was up to the Prime Minister to make the necessary decisions.
Dr Sceberras Trigona’s was “a good academic exercise”, Dr Muscat said.
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