Category: Mediawatch

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Mediawatch

Angels Abroad

You probably read it by now. Angelik Caruana has taken his mystic mystifications abroad and has managed to attract the international audience. He managed to get the attention of all and sundry via some yelling tantrum in the middle of a public audience of Papa Ratzi in Paul VI hall at the Vatican. The alleged visionary was quickly surrounded by security who feared the worst when this envelope wielding grey-haired man started yelling at the top of his voice. I can just about imagine his communicative abilities when he is far from the fawning audience on some hill in Malta.

We’ve feted the man for long now. We’ve been amused by his antics and he has enjoyed the platforms of our most notorious talk shows. Now it is no longer funny because our fervent Catholicity has taken a comic twist on the international stage. “Di nazionalità maltese” is what stands out in the La Stampa report – in the same way as “jihadist” would sound in some report on an attack.

Secondo quanto si è appreso, i due fedeli identificati sono di nazionalità maltese e la Gendarmeria Pontificia ha fatto sapere che la busta conteneva messaggi devozionali.

Thank God for devotional messages. If the website is anything to go by we can expect gibberish of the highest order that would be difficult even for a deity busy apparating in Malta on a hot summer day to decipher. Angelik is one of our circus of freaks and though he has his followers does not get elected to any post (unless you give weight to the big Marian vote). This episode does ring a warning tone about electing persons of dubious sound mind or with absolutely insufficient nous of international diplomacy and aplomb to public posts.

After all there is little to go between a quickly penned letter to the Pope and an angry rant to Jerzy Buzek.

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Mediawatch

A Brilliant Bondi+

We know you’d never thought we’d say this but we will. Last night’s Bondi+ was brilliant. It may be that it’s because Oliver Friggieri was given practically a free rein to speak his mind about Malta and the Maltese but it is thoroughly enjoyable. Interesting insights and thoughts. Friggieri at his best. You’ve got to love his humility : “Ma hix mistoqsija facli. Ma nafx inwegibha” (when asked if party TV stations are contributing to increase the sense of partisanism.)

PS. Got to the point where Bondi expresses his new pet hate: “il-hmerijiet li taqra fuq l-internet.” He still cannot stomach the idea that there is a space which cannot be bought out for some opinions only. A repugnant interlude.

Watch it here.

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Mediawatch

7 billion

An interesting video from National Geographic. This year the world population reaches the magic number of 7 billion. National Geographic tried to help readers “visualise” the immensity of that figure by putting it into a demographic, geographic and historical perspective. Here goes:

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iTech Mediawatch

Who you calling old?

As we eagerly wait for the next iPad (please make it by April) and listen nonchalantly to ipods on the bus while reading the paper on our iPhone, there’s a whole new generation out there who are absolutely clueless about the technology of yesterday. Thirty? Who you calling old?

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Fireworks Mediawatch

Us and Them

This cannot be comforting news but it did ring a familiar bell. The Italian region closest to us has an unfortunate reputation among most other people – whether Italian or foreign. For a very long time the word Sicily would conjure up ideas of shopping trips and a quick and cheap escape from the socialist regime of monotonous shelving and bulk buying.

Yesterday’s Rai 1 news carried the item that the economic growth of Sicily has surpassed Lombardy. I am not surprised. Having visited Sicily and divested my brain of the unfortunate stereotypes that I still carried from my youth I could not but agree with the idea that this was a promising region that knew where to go next.

Sicily could not be further away from Malta in terms of planned development and growth. Old maladies notwithstanding , the impression you get is of an eager region ready to pounce on the next opportunity that is offered. Add on the measure of Mediterranean beauty and Italian style and you have a formula that could be a winner.

This bit of news is what remains of the little, sad comparisons we can make with the sister island up north (from Repubblica.it):


Esplode fabbrica di fuochi
due morti nel Catanese
A Santa Venerina, sul posto varie squadre di vigili del fuoco

Due persone sono morte e un’altra è rimasta ferita nell’esplosione avvenuta in una fabbrica di fuochi d’artificio di Santa Venerina, nei pressi di Catania. La deflagrazione, seguita da un incendio, è avvenuta poco dopo le 9.30. Sul posto numerose squadre dei vigili del fuoco, oltre a polizia e carabinieri.

(10 gennaio 2011)

Some things will never change.

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Mediawatch

Abuse of Dominance

MaltaToday reports Chris Said’s concern over Benna’s price hikes on certain types of milk. In its article MT states that the parliamentary secretary will be asking the competition authority to investigate the rise in prices as“the operator could be enjoying a dominant position in the market.” Now the problem here is that a “dominant position” per se is not at all illegal under competition law. The question of whether Benna has a dominant position in the market for milk or in the sub-market for particular types of milk only comes into play if Benna has in any way “abused” of the dominant position. One would hope that the distinction between the existence of dominance and the abuse thereof is clear in the PS’s mind and that the problem is only in the reporting made by MaltaToday.