It’s been a long time since I went for the “round-up” style post but here is one for all kinds of tastes. Straight from the heart of eurodoubt we take a quick look at what’s going on in the world around us – and obviously pepper a few of our own comments. (and videos from the euronews youtube feed)
1. Plagiarism on the Independent
Well it’s not Malta’s Independent but the UK’s. Journalist and columnist Johann Hari made a public apology and promised to return the “George Orwell Prize” that he had been awarded after he admitted to having committed what he called “two wrong and stupid things”. The first “stupid thing” might not even sound like plagiarism to some but gives us a good example of the rigors of professional journalism. Hari was accused of replacing interviewees words with similar clips taken from books or articles elsewhere. The words used were by the same interviewees but they were not the ones they used in the interview.
The second “stupid thing” turns out to be really stupid. Hari adopted a user-name in order to edit Wikipedia entries. Here is his admission of his faults in this second error:
I factually corrected some other entries about other people. But in a few instances, I edited the entries of people I had clashed with in ways that were juvenile or malicious: I called one of them anti-Semitic and homophobic, and the other a drunk. I am mortified to have done this, because it breaches the most basic ethical rule: don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you. I apologise to the latter group unreservedly and totally.
Hari admitted plagiarism and publicly apologised for his actions. In addition to that ” (Hari) is to take four months’ unpaid leave to undertake a programme of journalism training at his own expense. He will also return the Orwell Prize which was awarded to him in 2008. ” (see Independent columnist apologises for plagiarism).
2. Governments Abroad
If you take a break from the PLPN hyperreality where Muscat sells mystery policies and Caruana Galizia and Bondi still peddle Mintoff as current affairs you will find a whole new world beyond the borders of good old Melita. In that world the German Constitutional Court has just delivered an important judgement that clears the way for Merkel’s plans to help the euro by helping the Greeks. Meanwhile, the markets remain nervous and shaky with different messages not helping to stabilise the environment.
Italy‘s “manovra” was pushed through as bombe carta exploded outside the Senate house but the “austerity” bill that was announced includes measures that are prone to bring the unions to the streets and the country to an unhelpful standstill. Berlusconi failed to tax the rich and seems to still believe that the less successful can help carry the burden of the crisis.
French banks were left wondering what hit them when Moody decided to downgrade the ratings for giants Société Générale and Credit Agricole among others. The downgrade was put down to the lack of confidence in the French banks due to “the increasing vulnerabilities of the market“. Meanwhile the bid to become Presidential candidate for the PS begins in earnest as the six candidates vowed to oppose each other but not to argue/fight.
UK banks seem to have survived the current tests but are also subject to warnings that the new rules could stretch their finances. (Telegraph) In his article on the Telegraph economist Andrew Lilico explains why the death of the euro could also mean the death of the EU. Analysis and reaction to recent events by major politicians have prompted calls for a rewriting of the treaty and even a call for a Federal Europe.
Maastricht, Amsterdam and Lisbon seem to have been the wrong antidote to the deepening vs widening argument that plagued Europe in the nineties and noughties. It should come as no surprise that once again economic realties push the reluctant continent into some long-awaited decision making about its future form.
Debbie Schembri left a note on Facebook informing the world that she is happy to have been reinstated as a lawyer in the Ecclesiastical Tribunal. To people like myself, Schembri’s message is once again equivocal to say the least. I had high hopes that the likes of Schembri would survive the divorce debate to form a Civil Rights movement that would press on to reform our laws. One such important reform would be the divorce between Church and state matters − a marriage that has only harmed both parties since 1995.
Schembri had no obligation or duty to do any of this. It is disappointing to see the “bright star” of Maltese progressive politics melt into the establishment day after day. First there was no Civil Rights movement − Debbie preferred to join opportunist Labour; now there is no hurry to divorce Church from State − Debbie is quite happy to perform her duties as a church approved lawyer. Ah Tommasi di Lampedusa… how right you were.
(…) allow me a few words on the Julia Farrugia business. It has been intriguing for me to monitor the reaction to the decision of the Press Ethics Committee regarding MaltaToday’s reporting of the Joe Mizzi Affair. You’ll find a full review of the issue on the J’accuse post entitled “De Moribus Viator”. What I found particularly jarring was the repetition of what happened in the Plategate Affair a while back.
Instead of discussing the ethics of what was done (and instead of addressing the issue of improving the ethical performance of the Maltese journalistic sector), what counts for Malta’s opinion press and opinion formers pounced on the opportunity to engage in their national sport: character assassination.
If denouncing the free manner in which any excuse is a good excuse for a slag contest makes me a speaker from a high horse then call me a cavalier. When I am accused of speaking from the “moral high ground” because I have denounced the lax standards of the gutter press, the accuser fails to realise that this IS all about morality and ethics. The moment that you make the mental choice to accept the kind of sewer-bred smear tactics that are perpetrated daily in the Maltese media you become a willing accomplice of that dirt.
Or when it’s best to quit. This is the first post in J’accuse’s new initiative for the lazy and the short of concentration – Sunday’s article split into edible sizes. The lengths (or cuts) we go through to please our readers.
Hang on
I had a dream that consisted of a crazed Muammar Gaddafi in exile travelling around “his” Africa filming little snippets with a videocam and commenting, “My people, they love me”. The theatricals of the tyrant in the last violent throes of his deposition have been starkly surreal. In the midst of all the firing and chaos, who does Gaddafi call? The Russian head of the World Chess Player Federation that’s who. He called Mr Ilyumzhinov to tell him that he was alive and well (just in case the Russian was thinking of checking in on his friend) and this call was reported in a manner that made it seem like the most normal conversations. The world, as you know it, is crumbling around you and you find time to call your chess partner? Checkmate.
Oh the irony. We normally attribute the term “checkmate” to Arabic origins. The phrase “Shah mat” is explained as meaning “the King is Dead” in common lore. Apparently, the Persian phrase Shah mat does not actually mean that the king is dead but rather that “the king is helpless”. Which makes more sense because the checkmate position in chess involves the noble realisation that your king is in an indefensible corner and that the next step is the gallant toppling of your own king in humble acceptance of the inevitability of defeat. Gaddafi will wander around “helpless” for a few more days, or maybe months – everybody but Muammar has realised the inevitability of his defeat. Shah mat.
Hold on
Gaddafi’s lessons in chess over a 10-year period do not seem to have included the noble art of accepting the inevitability of defeat. The tyrant hangs on for his dear life and his power, still backed by the die-hard rebels. He has become the latest tyrant on the run, a fugitive spitting away from a corner − just like Adolf and Saddam before him. Even the greatest foot shufflers and fence sitters have finally begun to publicly denounce the Green Leader and throw their lot in with the new leadership. Malta − or the slower part of it − has begun to realise the inevitability of having to rewrite its relationship with its southern neighbour.
While one powerful man gave us a lesson on how not to relinquish power, another man of a completely different cut was in the news this week. Steve Jobs, the famed Apple CEO, resigned from his post as CEO of what is probably one of the world’s most powerful companies. His resignation reverberated around the world of tech-nerds and stock markets. Apple shares shot down for a while − such was the confidence in this guru of marketing who had reinvented two worlds in one lifetime. Jobs, the man who re-branded Apple via snazzy computers and a music world revolution, has chosen to step aside.
Steve Jobs could not just teach us one lesson. He could have his own faculty in a university to teach us lessons in life, from business acumen to surviving illnesses after facing death in the face. If there is one lesson Jobs could teach us right now it is that of knowing when to quit:
I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.
There you have it. The King is dead. Long live King Jobs.
Our commenting on recent events have catapulted J’accuse into the fence of “nationalist apologist” in the eyes of many a partisan reader. There is a very simple reason for that – whenever w analyse the ills of our political society we always seem to conclude that this is a result of PLPN politics. Readers who have the tendency to (even subconsciously) want Labour in power and PN out at all costs tend to not like this conclusion because they would love to believe the alternation of government to be the solution to this kind of ills. Our most poignant observation – that alternation will only bring in same, same but different – is anathema to anyone who is itching to have their best linked power circles in power. Plus ca change… (Note: This is a long post – read it in snippets for better enjoyment).
Cyrusgate – They thought it was all over
It isn’t now. The police swoops on pater et filius Engerer shortly after the famous/infamous “switch” to Labour by Engerer Jr reminded a few of us of the haranguing of Dr Harry Vassallo (then AD Chairperson) right before the election in 2008 (see the end result here). It was not, in other words, the first time that the long arm of the law moved with curious timing and with apparent synch with the needs of the party in government. The public reaction this time round was louder because it was not insignificant AD who is “never in the news” (never did so much bullshit uttered by so many make so little sense) but newly baptised Labourite Cyrus. The young upstart who had been enjoying his meteoric rise to the political limelight was suddenly the subject of investigations relating to that conservative anathema that has the bad habit of popping up recently: porn and the dealing thereof.
We sat back and watched events unfold: from the morning indignation at the news of the police investigations to the afternoon defences by the police commissioner and the head of the Pm’s private secretariat, to the calls for people’s heads by Joseph Muscat (ever the flamboyant populist, blissfully unaware of the wider picture). Having heard the story from the press and press conferences we can draw a few conclusions from this latest track in the Cyrus LP.
“The Tangled Web”
I will start from the end. 1984 has often been cited on the social networks but 1984 and similar Kafkesque novels imply a hidden Big Brother that is centrally organised and operates intelligently. I would like to offer a different hypothesis. What if what we are talking about is a multiplicity of power structures that have been nurtured over time and thrive in the stale, unproductive environment of PLPN generated politics? Forget the metaphor of a gene-pool of PL or PN DNA and think in terms of stagnating mentalities in a cesspit of power-sharing. It is a world that most people know about but that we have become numbed by: failing to react with indignation when we see things happen.
The cesspit has generated Malta’s version of backhanders, nepotism, favours and a rota of privileged elite. It is the machine behind the skipping of the queue (thanks to recommendations and connections) and behind our race to the bottom (because of the absence of a meritocracy). The reason most people cannot bring themselves to criticise it is because at least in one point in their lives they have made use of it with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge attitude: and comfortable in the idea that “cosi fan tutti“.
What has this got to do with people like Edgar Galea Curmi and Police Commissioner Rizzo?
On a personal level, I am Cyrus’s Confirmation Godfather and care a lot for Cyrus and his family. I am deeply upset by the way certain elements in the media are manipulating two unfortunate incidents of people I deeply care for with the sole aim of defaming the Prime Minister and the people around him. As a result of these malicious stories, I have instructed my lawyer to institute libel proceedings against MaltaToday.
Let’s leave the “manipulation” bit for a little later. Let’s get into Edgar Galea Curmi’s head for a second. A Nationalist Secretary to the PM has just told the press that he picked up a phone – upon instigation of New Labour Cyrus – to call the Commissioner of Police. Somehow Edgar seems to be comforted by the idea that Cyrus (by then a representative of the opposition party) was present when he chose to phone Commissioner Rizzo.
That in itself is a big fail. When Edgar Galea Curmi calls Commissioner Rizzo there can be only two ways to interpret it. Either he is calling him in a private capacity and speaking to Mr Rizzo in a private capacity OR it is the Prime Minister’s Head of Secretariat calling the Commissioner of Police. Now given that EGC did not call Commissioner Rizzo for a convivial chat but was actually asking about events falling under the official capacity of Mr Rizzo we can safely rule the first option out. This is worse than a Minister taking a private jet plane for a private trip for example. We have an “admission” as to the content of the phone call – and it was not a private matter.
The point though is that EGC seems to be somehow comforted by his “private” link with Cyrus thanks to having been his Confirmation Godfather. The unfortunate connotations of the word “Godfather” will not help EGC’s cause much. It is also interesting to note how a relationship deeply steeped in Catholic tradition can still create such bonds in a Malta that is still shedding it’s conservative bonds. EGC’s manner of thinking is not unique. Our PLPN society is built on webs and connections and networks. You publicly move up the ladder and before you know it you are wheel in the power machine: sometimes using that wheel’s power in complicated rituals involving the exchanging of favours. Within that power system lies an unwritten rule that family and close friends might be given an added consideration: it’s private you know. Think of the last time you saw someone getting his friend through on the VIP list in some nightclub and then think wider, bigger.
“The Indignation”
The phone call between Galea Curmi and Rizzo is dangerous not because a PM Secretary has enquired about the operations of a part of the executive branch. This might, in other circumstances be entirely justified. If we were to accept that the PM’s office is worried about police action being shackled by political considerations a phone call might be the start of a wider enquiry: a public, official enquiry. The nature of the phone call and the justification makes the whole thing collapse on its face though. That kind of phone call can never be justified with private links. It is a public phone call with public repercussions (which is also why EGC should be less worried about “malicious interpretations” at this point).
Joseph Muscat would have been entirely justified for his indignation at the phone call and calls for resignation. But – and here comes the but – what Joseph failed to factor (unless he has already cynically factored this) was Cyrus Engerer’s role behind the infamous phone call. If, as Edgar Galea Curmi says, the phone call was made upon instigation and in the presence of Cyrus then we have the ultimate example of PLPN twisted thinking. Some people would say “the Lord is my witness” but in our convoluted way of thinking in the cesspit of our politics what better and stronger an argument than “a man from the opposition is my witness”?
What many people will not see is that behind that kind of justification lies the very existence and spinal column of PLPN networking. They can and will work together if necessary. In most other instances EGC’s phone call would have been ok by their standards. It could, after all, very well be Joseph’s head of secretariat in a few years time who is returning the favour. The only problem here is that Cyrus is a hot potato at the moment and Joseph can rarely resist a foray into quick vote grabbing fields. By pointing his finger at EGC though, Muscat has also inadvertently (or full-knowingly) pointed his finger at Cyrus. Muscat probably knows that right now (as we said earlier) he can get away with murder… and is probably banking on the fact that voters will be too preoccupied with the hubbub to be able to see the side of the equation that implicates his own party’s latest prodigal son.
“The Police”
A few words on the police. I have discussed this case with card-carrying Labourites and card-carrying Nationalists and moderates. Three hypotheses stood out. “The Nationalist Revenge” – a policeman in the Sliema District out on a payback mission for Cyrus’ defection. “The Big Brother Revenge” – this elaborates further with various power circles from the PN fold implicated as instigators for the police action (imagine the pressure from a district heavyweight who has been royally pissed off at Cyrus for example). Thirdly “the Sacrificial Lamb” – with a labourite push (either labour-leaning police alone or with the connivance of some Labourite politician) to use Cyrus in order to damage the government’s credibility even further. Nobody seemed to subscribe to “the Harry Vassallo Option” – in August 2008 the police report into Harry’s case showed that the timing was simply due to incompetence and slow working of the police force.
Even without proof to confirm any of the three theories what impresses me most is the fact that strongly convincing theories can be advanced that involve power-circles topped in each case by members, sympathisers and well-wishers of the two political parties. To me it matters little at that point whether one or the other turns out to be the hero/villain in this particular case.
What matters to me is that I would like to see both wiped out of their concentric circles of influence. What turns me into the cynical armchair critic that I am is the realisation after so many years that the system is so inbuilt into our thinking that it is near impossible to get it to budge one inch.
Se vogliamo che tutto cambi, bisogna che tutto rimanga lo stesso – what a motto for the PLPN mentality.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? asked the wittier on social networks. Who will guard us from our guardians? Maybe we should stop worrying about our guardians and ask a more important question:
“Who will protect us from ourselves?“
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don’t they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,
I’d like to apologise for the lengthy delay between posts but as many of you may know by now J’accuse has moved house (physically) and is currently living in quasi-total chaos as a variety of EU workers have been scripted for works in the domus. To cut a long story short my house looks a bit more like a war zone and I have little or no access to blogging space. Anyways, as normally happens, much that is bloggable has been happening in our absence so here is a round up of thoughts in I.M. Jack style:
1. Akkuza on Tumblr
Thought that I’d remind you that little snippets are always available on the J’accuse Miniblog that can be seen at the foot of the blog main page or on it’s own tumblr homesite at www.akkuza.tumblr.com. If brevity is a form of wit then this version of media commentary and photoblog is the wittiest Malta has to offer. Modestly speaking of course.
2. Arriva?
The eventful launch of the Arriva service would merit a blog post all for itself. Instead we will have to make do with a bullet list of observations:
The business of the shifts has exposed the real ċwieċ maltin of Tonio Fenech fame. It did not take an Einstein to guess from the start that Arriva weren’t that stupid as to impose law-breaking 12 hour shifts on employees. They did ask for split shifts – a common enough solution in transport systems that also prevents drivers from being behind the wheel for long stretches (not only for their safety but also for that of passengers). Enter the ċuċ malti who combines with the Times’ quest for village paper reporting (Austin’s source in his “rajtha fuq l-internet”) and you have a threatened “strike” by workers who still have not understood what a split shift is after 6 weeks of training. Bring on the “foreigners” then.
There is the usual sense of political exploitation in the Arriva saga. Obviously an Arriva success is considered to be a feather in the government’s cap. Again there is an unofficial Labour position. It is not trumpeted as a party position but there is a general buzz around all the failures that is dying to attribute any slip to GonziPN by vicarious liability. Once again the stupid logic of solving national problems (yes, by our standards an efficient transport system remains a national problem) creates more handicaps than efficiencies. Emmanuel Delia has faded into oblivion following the Bisazza Street gaffe – presumably unable to take the flak as his corner of the feather in the cap turned irremediably sour. Austin Gatt, ever the misunderstood bulldozer was right in saying that miscreant drivers should be sacked but what were they thinking taking them on in the first place? The Labour buzz will be happy with the Times’ Village Newspaper reporting about stranded commuters, mysterious machine break ups, and tattoed drivers fuming about having to wear long sleeves. While that speaks volumes about Labour’s opportunism we are yet to hear some form of encouragement to the whole scheme of improvement of transport from their corner. Does that mean that come Joseph Muscat we will have the yellow chuggers back on the road? One man seems to think so.
3. New “kids” on the blog
Somebody has found something to fill his time and avoid the degeneration of his “boredom threshold”. J’accuse welcomes the belated foray by Lou “Can’t Read” Bondi into the interactive world of blogging. You’ll find the babystep blog here: loubondi.blogspot.com. At least Bondi will finally get some first hand experience at running a blog – and handling the comments (though I am sure he will be just as predictably selective as in other media… but who knows?). It was amusing to watch Lou trying desperately to get his readers to leave comments on the blog and not on facebook…. babysteps indeed.
The first foray with “Hey nigga.. you’re an asshole” was an amusing defence of Malta’s traditional standards of journalism and we were pleased to see that it was in direct contradiction to our take on the Times Journalist vs Snoop Dogg” event as exposed in our Sunday Sermon on the Independent. Of course Bondi would think that the journalist had been disrespected… how could he even begin to fathom the expert publicity stunt that modern day rockers/rappers (superstars) can pull just like that out of a mickey mouse-ish hat?
4. DSK released, Inter prescribed
It turns out that Mr Strauss Kahn was (quite probably) a victim of a frame up. In Italy procuratore Palazzi clearly pointed out that Moratti’s Inter were not the clean virgins they made themselves out to be. They are, in my words, GUILTY AS FCUK. It turns out though that enough time has passed since the decisions in 2006 mysteriously set aside much evidence regarding calls by Facchetti and Moratti to allow the facts to be subject to prescription. Here’s a note for Intercettati fans: Prescribed means that you are still dirty bastards but that the law cannot get you. Like Berlusconi for example.
