Today’s J’accuse on the Malta Independent on Sunday (28.08.11)
It’s hard to concentrate when you’ve been hacked. Not physically I mean. It’s just that J’accuse, the blog − the depository of my almost daily thoughts for almost seven years − was hacked by some git supposedly based in Ukraine. Notwithstanding the valorous efforts of a number of tech-savvy comrades, the hack persisted in doing its malicious business for the past three days − said business consisting of “redirecting” visitors to Google and distributing “malware”.
This particular hack had a little “robot” planted into my site via some seemingly innocuous programming that supports a website theme. Without going into too much detail, what happened next was that at some point the “robot” decided to start redirecting anybody attempting to enter www.akkuza.com to a site hosted in Russia. Apart from being very frustrating, this “malware” − for thusly have the nerds baptised this ill of the ether − has the effect of debilitating your “street cred” on the net.
Over a short period of time, your address becomes a pariah to browser after browser because someone at the net-police in Google headquarters decided to flag your address as a potentially malicious carrier of ugly information. Before you know it, you find yourself quarantined in a virtual Lazaretto without so much as a limestone wall to carve your name on. Which is how I ended up rebuilding J’accuse from scratch on Friday night till the early hours of Saturday morning. J’accuse is running now and its net credibility has been repristinated. It’s incredible how hard a bit of Internet slagging can hit you… but hey we all know how thick J’accuse’s skin is.
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.
Scraping the ethical barrel
Lastly, 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.
Gode di Immunità
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.
End credits
Allow me to thank Max, Mark and Simon for their assistance in the latest ordeal for J’accuse. The blog keeps the flag flying. Expect a few more tweaks in the coming days.
www.akkuza.com is officially no longer in Google’s black books. Normal service has been resumed and the blog that has entertained you since March 2005 is back to its normal pain in the butt status.
