Blogging from the mountain top

In a welcome recognition of the power of blogging by a regular columnist in the traditional media, JG Vassallo writes about the potential of blogging as a force for democratisation. He says that blogging will soon be " setting the democratic pace" in this country. The article appears on the online edition of yesterday's Independent but actually published today on the printed edition of the Malta Independent on Sunday. From the Malta Independent Online:

..It is fertility of insight, rather than vitriol, which nourishes democracy. This, to my mind, should be the star by which authentic opinion-makers should navigate. Opinion-makers, as well as politicians, should further bear in mind that, with the rapid advance of technology, they are being short-circuited by an expanding audience, which consumes information and interacts by computer. Blogging is democratising the process of opinion making. Before long, it will be, very largely, the blogging community that will descend from the mountain top, intent on setting the democratic pace. The media and their opinion-makers will then have to be more focused.

Conditional genetic research

The European Cordis News reports that the Social Affairs Committee of the Maltese Parliament, which is led by conservatives, recommends genetic research with conditions. The Maltese Church is still not pleased. From Cordis News:

The Maltese government's Social Affairs Committee has presented recommendations to the national parliament, which support the authorisation of genetic research providing that a number of conditions are met. The recommendations follow an eight-month consultation and discussion period, but the opposition Labour Party would like to see this debate extended in order to take further into account the expectations of the Maltese population..

The Social Affairs Committee was slightly perturbed when, after securing a fragile consensus after eight months of debate, the bishops of Malta made a statement claiming that human life begins at a point earlier than that on which the committee had based discussions. The committee's position on the moment at which human life begins is based upon that of the Roman Catholic Church. The Donum Vitae states that human generation starts from the moment that they zygote is formed - the zygote is the cell produced when the nuclei of the two gametes have fused...However, a statement by the Maltese bishops claims that human life begins a stage earlier than this...

More information from MaltaMedia

Malta with Louis

Louis from Palo Alto, California travels the world and writes 'descriptive anecdotes' for his blog of the places he visits. In what is probably the longest travel post about Malta that I have seen, Louis kicks off his Malta piece by writing an overview of the history of the islands and the Knights. From TravelWithLouis:

With Malta’s history, it is no wonder that the cities of the islands are filled with a mixture of architecture from the nations of Europe and North Africa.We booked an American-sold tour of Malta and Sicily from a company called Academic Tours... Valletta is the capitol and largest city of Malta, but as might be expected at the tops hills of a submerged mountain, it sits on one arm of a fjord. Across the small bays on either side of this peninsula are other towns. In fact, the shoreline of the whole island consists of rocky beaches, promontories, and fjords with houses built on the steep sides of the hills or on hilltops.On the jutting ends of the land surrounding the two bays there are huge stone fortresses built by the Crusaders. At key points around the island there are tall stone watchtowers..

They are a very friendly people, but their families are very close-knit and private. Despite millennia of repeated invasions, they are still an island culture... As our plane arrived we could see a land of rolling hills. Our hotel was located in the city of Sliema, which is adjacent to Valletta on the other side of a fjord. A mile-long strip of hotels and shops, called “The Strand,” faces the harbor and the docks for ferries and small boats. Many of the boats in the harbor were the traditional Maltese “luzzu,” a brightly painted fishing boat, pointed at both ends and bearing carved and painted “eyes” on either side of the prow so that the boat can find its way home..

It is easy to see why the Romans named the Mare Mediterrania as they did. To them and to the Greeks and Phoenicians before them this water was “the sea in the middle of the Earth.” Malta and Sicily were on the path taken by Ulysses in his wanderings after the Trojan War. After a short walk through the garden, we strolled to St. John’s Co-Cathedral.Valletta was the first “planned city” in Europe. After the Great Siege of1565, when the Knights defended Malta from the Sulieman’s forces, they knew they would need a more defensible city and harbor. They chose the bare peninsula across the Grand Harbor and convinced the Vatican to send their architect Francesco Laparelli, to design the city. The result is that Valletta has strong walls and cliffs to defend it, straight streets along its length, and straight, narrow cross streets. The cross streets are steep … often having steps for part of their length..

The last stop on our tour for the day was the “Malta Experience,” a sound and vision show on a wide screen that explained the history of Malta from the Stone Age through to current times. During World War II, Malta was Britain’s base for shipyards, munitions storage, and hospitals. For several years the Axis bombers attempted to destroy the island’s ability to be used as a base. The pictures and sound effects of the bombings, and of the citizens hiding in caves and cellars made the German tourists seated in the row behind us wince and gasp audibly..

The fact that these temples are almost 6,000 years old … older than the Egyptian pyramids or England’s Stonehenge … left me unable to talk. I could only walk around, touch the walls and wonder what these buildings might have looked like when they were built; wonder what the builders might have looked like; wonder how the priests preserved the mysteries of their inner sanctums; wonder what strange gods they worshipped; what sacrifices they made.There is a cave on the coast of Gozo named “Calypso’s Cave.” Not only St. Paul, but also Ulysses was supposed to have been here...

Das Malta weblog

Carsten posts his first impressions on his Malta weblog:

Zunächst einmal: Ich bin gut und sicher angekommen, die Organisation läuft überraschend gut und der Job ist auch ok, wenn auch nicht so entspannend wie bei den meisten anderen die nur 4-5 Stunden arbeiten.Fotos sind auch schon da: mymalta.de/gallery Der Flug mit Air Malta war angenehmen auch wenn ich natürlich in Ddorf wieder an den Schalter mit der längsten Schlange des Airports musste. Aber das war so klar…Danach mein erster Flug über die Alpen die echt gigantisch sind und dann Italien grade runter! Man konnte rechts und links aus den Fenstern das Meer sehen, man Italien ist nicht breit! Dabei schön Veggi Food bekommen - nitt schlecht. Anderw von IAESTE hat mich dann auch nur 10 Minuten warten lassen, was mich nun doch positiv überrascht hat...

Weekly Press Digest - july 21 to july 27

Wednesday27: From MaltaMedia, new electoral boundaries published by the Electoral Commission; Joanna Drake selected as EC representative in Malta; Alfred Sant says New York Times journalist Judith Miller should be freed from jail; Il-gvern irid jintaxxa familji li jospitaw studenti barranin; Lino Bugeja on dumping children in an educational ghetto

Tuesday26: From the Belfast Telegraph, top Northern Ireland footballer turns down move to Maltese club; Leo Brincat writes about his meeting with the Italian Vice President of the European Commission; Ivan Camilleri writes about Maltese ambivalence about Turkey; Toni Abela dwar l-industrija tal-kappar

Monday25: From Israel Insider, the new Spielberg film finally has a name; The Malta Employers Association publishes it's proposals for the next Budget; Censu Galea on how to make Malta competitive; From MaltaMedia, young Greek sports professor dies in Gozo waters; From Market Wire in Las Vegas, top Maltese resort acquired by Sunterra; Joseph Muscat updates readers on the EU services directive; Daniela Attard Bezzina dwar is-sejha tat-tielet dinja

Sunday24: From the Sunday Telegraph, security fears in Malta surrounding Spielberg's film; Alfred Mifsud writes that Maltese political leaders are in a state of denial; Charles Flores goes back to the 70s; Anthony Manduca on the aftermath of the London bombings; Evarist Bartolo says Malta's biggest challenge is to revive the tourism inustry; From MaltaToday, George Vella refuses leadership proposal; Guardian columnist Stanley Johnson remarks on Malta's hunting habits ; Matthew Vella discusses illegal immigration with Franco Galea; Mit-Torca, Michael Falzon dwar PROFITeROLLS u il-qaghda ta' Malta

Saturday23: Tony Blair discusses Malta - UK relations and European politics; EU report states Malta is well prepared on terrorism; JG Vassallo highlights the Government's predicament; Josanne Cassar speaks to percussionist Renzo Spiteri; Owen Bonnici on the European crisis; Joe Fountain says it's business as usual in London; Stanley Borg writes about the worldwide flu pandemic

Friday22: The Times editorial says it's time to give Malta a new look; From MaltaMedia, Chinese crew members die as Malta registered ship sinks in Japan waters; Louis Deguara discusses Lino Spiteri's views on the Labour Party

Thursday21: Maltese documentary wins New York festival award; It’s not the airlines that are to blame for our costly airfares, writes Daphne Caruana Galizia, but the government-imposed taxes; Jose Herrera on the sad state of Maltese republicanism; The Greek head of Maltco Lotteries is satisfied with the gambling habits of the Maltese; John Pisani dwar delitt makabru fil-Maghtab 12-il sena ilu li ghadu mhux solvut; From MaltaMedia, European Commission vice president in Malta to discuss issues of irregular immigration

The value of friendship

Easy going new blogger Nadya Hansen who blogs at Hsejjes Inocenti is "born and bred in Malta with Danish attachments". She took time to reflect on the value of friendship over a capuccino at Cordina's in Valletta's Republic street. She writes that friendship is a very important aspect of her life. From Hsejjes innocenti:

..It is only those people who do not know me who would think that I would in any way betray them or say anything to compromise them with anyone else. Maybe my friendship towards them does not mean anything, maybe it's a question of taking and never giving, but for me, friendship is the most important thing. I hate those people who want to cultivate an image with certain friends whilst letting down others. Let it be known once at for all that I cannot stand such people and they make me puke as much as social climbers. The cup is empty now.

Fears of sabotage

Controversy continues to surround the filming of Steven Spielberg's new film. Fears of sabotage have now been quenched as police claim that flames were the result of a negligent accident. From a report by Karl Schembri for the Sunday Telegraph:

When a brand new Mercedes truck full of equipment for Steven Spielberg's controversial new film went up in flames last week, it did not take long for rumours of terrorism and sabotage to sweep the set in Malta. There were already security fears surrounding the politically charged project, which is inspired by Israel's reaction to the 1972 Olympic Games massacre in Munich. Then, last Monday, the 130,000 euro (£90,000) truck, imported from Germany, and its cargo of filming equipment were destroyed by a fire that forced the driver to flee for his life. "I was parking when I heard a bang coming from the back," John Mifsud, the Maltese driver, told investigators. "In a few seconds the truck was ablaze and I managed to jump out unharmed."

"It was pure negligence but nothing serious," according to an associate close to Spielberg's production team. His spokesman, Deborah Wuliger, said that the spectacular explosion was an accident and it had not delayed the production. The Malta Film Commission was also playing down the incident, lest the bad publicity deter other Hollywood directors for whom the island can double for a range of Mediterranean destinations. In recent weeks, Malta has been bedecked in Israeli flags, Italian signposts and Spanish street names to suit Spielberg's requirements.

Why Spielberg should avoid Malta - Wired Temples

Maltese seamen at Trafalgar

Sailing Malta is a blog dedicated to sailing news from the central Mediterranean. It is run by the same author of MaltaMusic. In this post readers are provided with details of the six Maltese who served on board Nelson's flagship HMS Victory. From Sailing Malta:

They were all volunteers, having been recruited in Malta shortly after the outbreak of the Napoleonic war in 1803. They took part in the blockade of Toulon, the chase of Admiral Velleneuve's fleet to the West Indies and back to Gibraltar and finally in the battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. After Trafalgar in August 1806 a grant of £300,000 voted by the British Parliament was apportioned to every officer, seaman and marine who took part in the battle. Each Maltese seaman and marine received the sum of £4.12s.6d.

From the Trafalgar prize money distributed in the following year, April 1807, each Maltese was given £1.17s.6d. In 1847 a Naval General Service Medal was granted to the survivors of Trafalgar. Out of the six Maltese who fought in the battle only one was still alive to receive the medal. He was John Tart of Valletta, then aged 63.

Protecting Maltese waters

Bragioli in Denmark

Mike left Malta in February and blogs about his life in Denmark at Rhino Sushi. This week he hosted a Maltese meal for his five friends. From Maltese Bragioli at chez Malta Mike:

Kokken 2B was treated to yet another Maltese meal last night, with "bragiolis" in tomato sauce, patata il-forn, and baby mushrooms with soy sauce. We were 6 in all.. Soren, Allan, Jonas, Ulrich and his friend Martin, and of course yours truly, and we made sure that it was as hard as possible to walk to our rooms after the ikla... by drinking beer, port, wine, and vodka. Hurrah! (for hangovers...)

Malta Night with Mike

Maltese Cuisine

Malta houses for tsunami victims

From today's edition of Sri Lanka's Sunday Observer:

Malta Red Cross Society was the first organisation to come to our assistance and build permanent houses for the tsunami victims in the south of our island, stated Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse at a handing over ceremony in Rekawa, Hambantota, last week. Sixty two fully furnished houses costing approximately 5,400 US dollars per unit were handed over to the occupants by the President of the Malta Red Cross Society Prof. Lino Cutajar. The SLRCS, with the support of International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has pledged to construct over 15,000 houses for tsunami-displaced people in all districts. In addition, it will rehabilitate over 60 medical facilities in all affected districts. "Both rich and poor Malta people contributed equally to the fund we set up to assist tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and we are proud to see that we have given something tangible to the affected Sri Lankans", Prof. Cutajar said.

No sixth seat

In this interview with Steve Mallia of The Times, British PrimeMinister Tony Blair gives his views about Malta-UK co-operation, Queen Elisabeth's visit to Malta this November and European politics. He says that Malta will not get a sixth seat in the European Parliament in the near future. From today's Times:

Although he insists that the two countries already work "so well together", he would like to see even closer cooperation. "Perhaps one area is to encourage the constituent parts of the United Kingdom - the Devolved Administrations, Regional Development Agencies, the county councils - to work more with Malta. I want to see UK and Maltese companies, non-governmental organisations and local councils constructing joint projects for EU-funded programmes. So I am delighted that the Forum Malta in Europe will work with our High Commission to put on a conference in Malta in September to promote joint bids."

"We have worked closely together already to ensure that we have a European Union of nation states. I look forward to working with Malta on how to achieve solid results from the Euro Med Summit in Barcelona in late November." However, he does not envisage that Malta will get its sixth European Parliament seat in the very near future. "As you know, the UK has consistently supported Malta's bid for a sixth European Parliament seat. So I was glad when that was agreed in the EU Constitutional Treaty. There has been no change in the reasons for this move. But while the EU pauses for reflection about the no votes in France and the Netherlands, I don't think we can realistically expect progress on this yet." He responds to the question of whether the Constitutional Treaty is dead by saying there now needs to be a period of reflection and broad debate, though he describes the treaty as "a sensible set of rules" for an enlarged EU. "But the fact is that the no votes in France and the Netherlands do raise fundamental questions. As I said at the European Parliament last month, we can't ignore what we are being told by the people of Europe..

He was equally pleased when Malta ratified the treaty earlier this month, saying the decision was all the more historic since Malta's referendum on accession was the closest among new member states. "The EU debate in Malta is still lively, and I think that is a healthy sign - but the focus has clearly shifted on to how to make the best of membership. I applaud that."...

Chronology of EU-Malta relations; Malta's representation in European Institutions; The Malta Group exists 'to keep links with Malta and the United Kingdom strong and Malta/UK parliamentary relations close and fruitful; and to ensure that visitors from the Maltese parliament are properly received'; British High Commission in Malta

Press Pack Report

Press Packer Victoria reports about her life in Malta. Apart from her views on Maltese life she reports on 'a famous director who has been working on the island'. From the BBC Press Pack Report:

Malta is a small island that was once part of the British Empire. And even though it's now an independent country, it still has many English traditions. "Malta is a small island sandwiched between Sicily and Libya in the Mediterranean...It's hot most of the time but in January and February it gets pretty chilly! The buses in Malta are old 'Bedford' buses that used to be in London. The only problem is that the doors don't close so you get free air-conditioning... it only takes 45 minutes to get from the top of the island to the bottom in a car.. The director Steven Spielberg is filming on Malta. He chose Malta for the rural look for his latest movie...

My country: Malta, by Roxanne

Shooting down EU laws

BirdLife International and BirdLife Malta have officially complained to the European authorities about the island’s 'rampant bird hunting and trapping' and at the failure of the Maltese Government to implement properly the EU Birds Directive. From BirdLife International:

...When entering the EU, Malta was granted a period of transition to phase out the trapping of finches, which is normally forbidden in all Member States, by 2008. However, the Maltese Government have not respected the conditions of this agreement, particularly regarding the timing of the trapping and the timetable for this phasing-out. "BirdLife Malta and BirdLife International are committed to ensure a safe future for birds in Europe, and have tried for many years to solve the problems in Malta through dialogue and cooperation with the Maltese Government," said Clairie Papazoglou, Head of BirdLife’s Brussels office.

"However, these efforts have proven to be rather fruitless, so the time has come now for the European Commission to take its responsibility as guardian of the EU's laws, and to ensure with quick and decisive legal action against Malta that next spring European birds can pass safely over the Maltese Islands. If the Commission doesn’t take decisive action against Malta on hunting it will set a dangerous precedent for other countries in the EU, and sign a death warrant for thousands of migratory birds," she added.

Update from MaltaMedia: British journalist condemns Maltese Spring hunting

Maltese customs

EdithVed who blogs at HalfWayToHuman tells the story of when she was offerred dinner and hospitality by Maltese customs officials:

In Valleta, Malta’s capital everyone spoke English to me. From the old woman in the first hostel who turned me away, to the ferry boat official who told me I couldn’t sleep in the terminal while I awaited my 4 am boat back to Sicily. “But, maybe Customs can help you. They at least might take your bag for the night so you walk the street with no heavy load,” he offered referring to the 75 lb backpack I had hauled from Heathrow to Wales to Athens to Brindisi to Siciliy and now here. I walked up the narrow, yellowed stairway he pointed me toward...

Without waiting for my answer the man walked from behind the counter and carried my backpack into a backroom, where I followed. A spaghetti western played in English on the television. “Rest here if you like and we will wake you when dinner is ready.” That is how I ended up sharing a meal of boiled potatoes, tuna, olives, bread and wine with 5 Maltese customs officials. We discussed families, national politics and September 11th. They could not fathom how or why I was traveling alone through Europe. Where was my boyfriend, they asked. After dinner, we retreated to the makeshift living room with the sofas and the television and we watched the bio of Pink on VH1. I believe they would have been watching this show even if I weren’t there. I didn’t end up in one of the security cells after all...

Kipod Podcasting from Malta

Ki from Leeds is back in the UK following a visit to Malta which he calls "An ancient city with lots and lots of history!" From Kipod Radio blog:

..We went off to a wine festival at the port in Valleta. To our surprise and also disappointment it was mostly international lables (the normal types you'd find in tescos). We later tasted more local maltese wine in Gozo, which was affordable and also very tasty. The maltese weather at this time of the year is increadibly dry. As the locals say "If it rains in the summer you would be very unlucky" So I understood that it does not rain in the summer. The earth is very dry and vegetation in mainly scorched by mid summer. The nice part if its always good weather for a tan. Never a cloud and the sea is literrally crystal clear. You can see throught 15m of water. Just look at the waters below! Ooooh. Well, we spent splenty of time sunbathing, exploring coast-lines, ruin temples by the sea and visiting beauty spots where various films like gladiator, troy and life of brian was filmed. There was a scene where Brad Pitt played Archilles stood in the sea is not too far from where this picture was taken.

Listen to Kipod's Podcast station

Weekly Press Digest - july 14 to july 20

Wednesday20: From in2perspective, Malta introduces a new revision to the law concerning the purchase of property by non-Maltese nationals; From the Daily Mirror, Manchester United's Gary Neville proposes to fiancee on the 'idyllic Maltese island of Gozo'; Henry Brincat writes about former Malta goalkeeper David Cluett who died Sunday aged 39; Main trade union warns of more job losses; From MaltaMedia, official inquiry on the accounts of public corporation due for privatisation

Tuesday19: From MaltaMedia, EU support in Malta down by 10 per cent according to latest EuroBarometer report announced by European Commission; Malta's illegal immigration problem raised in Brussels; Call in Parliament for Government minister to be sacked; Death of former Central Bank Governor; Sri Lankan leader given keys to Little Malta village; Cardinal Ratzinger thanked critic who pointed out that Harry Potter corrupts the hearts of the young; Toni Abela jghid li ghandna gvern li jbezzel

Monday18: Danielle Vella on Alice's 'mad tea party' and the Malta-Libya relationship; Lino Spiteri on the PrimeMinister's economic contradiction; From Travel Video News, Malta to host European Forum on tourism; From MaltaMedia, Malta mentioned as possible venue for Formula One air race; Protest against proposed golf course; Football clubs remain most popular with Maltese; Sandra Aquilina interviews Simon Bartolo about his theatrical activities

Sunday17: Jailed New York Times journalist’s connection to Malta; Joe Brincat writes that the ratification of the European Constitution was a futile exercise and only meant for local consumption; Prime Minister admits people are 'fed up'; Catherine Maubert on Judge Maurice Caruana Curran's dedication to cultural heritage; Aurelie Herbemont writes about Malta's cultural traditions; Times survey says 92.7% in favour of repealing 1939 rent laws; Mnajdra temples exhibited in Brussels; Arnold Cassola on the government's smear campaign; Alfred Sant dwar il-hmira tad-disprament; Victor Scerri dwar ix-xalati fil-festi Maltin, it-tieni parti; Charles Flores jikteb dwar Ghawdwx djamant li inbidel fi trabokk; Charles Mangion dwar il-programm li jrid joffri l-MLP; Malta still defenceless against the impending menace of a global flu pandemic; Spielberg pays thousands to keep Maltese shopkeepers away; James Debono interviews environmentalist Martin Galea; Anna Mallia writes about the death of politics

Saturday16: Desmond Zammit Marmara lists reasons for people's anger at government; Tonio Borg celebrates the EU Constitution ratification quoting JFK and Gorg Borg Olivier; It-Taljan hi l-lingwa favorita mal-istudenti Maltin; Wenzu Mintoff jghid li minn mindu Malta rifset l-ghatba ta’ l-Unjoni Ewropea ma naqsux il-problemi mal-Libja

Friday15: Alfred Mifsud says that the Maltese media is short of probing economic minds that can challenge irrelevant assertions made by self-serving politicians; Bid to develop film industry in Malta; Prime Minister criticises new EU rules on ship pollution; Valentina Cassar says international terrorism should be countered effectively

Thursday14: Toni Sant writes on the Times about Malta's image on the internet; Mario Coleiro dwar id-devozzjoni lejn San Bastjan f'Malta u jghid li l-Maltin kienu jirrikorru lejh biex jintercedi ghalihom meta kienet tfaqqa l-marda tal-pesta; From MaltaMedia, European Commissioner on Malta joining the Euro currency; Daphne Caruana Galizia on 'a la carte Catholicism' and those who stay Catholic but live like pagans; Lorna Vassallo writes about the 'supreme pleasure' of being Lorna Vassallo

Super Saver

A feature by Penelope Green, A Super Super (He's a Super Saver) Buys a Co-op, was published yesterday on The New Tork Times. It tells the story of the humble beginnings of Maltese emigrant Sam Vassallo who used his skills as a carpenter, electrician and plumber over 16 years to save enough money to buy a luxury $1.45 million apartment in Manhattan. From yesterday's New York Times:

..Mr. Vassallo, however, had been saving assiduously since he moved to New York from Malta 16 years ago. "I always had the thought to buy an apartment," he said, explaining a bank account that reached a very healthy balance before the purchase of this apartment last year. "It's not hard, you know," he continued, smiling at a visitor's raised eyebrows. "I've worked at least two jobs and 80 hours a week from the beginning."..

He met Ms. Vassallo in Malta in 1998, home on one of the rare vacations he allowed himself. "In the beginning, when you first come to New York," Mr. Vassallo said,"you want to earn money and go back to Malta. It changes, though, because you get used to the life." Ms. Vassallo added, "And then it's too quiet for you back home." He and Ms. Vassallo were married in 2000 - four residents from 131 Riverside attended their wedding in Malta - and she moved into the small, dark one-bedroom super's apartment Mr. Vassallo had been living in since 1994..

His first five years here, he said, he worked as a handyman from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a building on East 87th Street, and then as a doorman from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. at another building, on East 32nd. Sleep was confined to the hours between 5 and 10 p.m. He lived with a friend on West 89th; in exchange for rent, he took out the garbage and performed other maintenance for that building. Two days a week, he worked as a security guard. "I was single, I didn't buy clothes or spend a lot on food," he said. "I would never put down $6 for a sandwich, or eat at a restaurant. Now, of course, it's a different story."..

You wonder, what is it about the arid island between Sicily and Tunisia that makes such extraordinary craftsmen? Mr. Vassallo shrugged and twinkled a bit. Malta also provided the beveled glass for his six French doors (that's 90 pieces of glass). A Manhattan estimate was $5,000; a Maltese supplier came in at $1,500. Mr. Vassallo has put the remainder of his savings into this renovation - which was completed this month - an amount that includes materials only. All the work - the carpentry, plumbing and wiring - was done by Mr. Vassallo. His taste is refined and luxurious, judging from the wine fridge, the second oven, the Bosch and Viking appliances, and the new parquet floor with its Harlequin border, all laid in by Mr. Vassallo...

Tjic calls Vassallo 'a middle class socialist brat'

Driving inside a Fort

New blogger Splengun at Tingiza blogs about Ananda's visit to Malta. From Tingiza's Sacred Island of Melita:

..Nasal sal-hames u l-ahhar gurnata li Amanda u shabha ghamlu maghna. Qrajt, "eventually found ourselves at a fort. This was the first time I drove inside a fort along incredibly narrow and steep cobblestone paths but eventually reached a point with incredible views of the Harbor, Valetta and the surrounding areas". Saqet bil-karozza go forti ghal-ewwel darba. Viva il-lasktu tal-Pirelli fuq il-Cobblestone eh Amanda hi?! Ghal min ma ghandux idea kif wiehed irid jidhol hawn gew, nista nispjega ftit fil-qosor. Trid titla speci ta telgha li twasslek go kamra b'saqaf gholi fejn trid iddur 90 degrees, tghaddi minn go bieb dejjaq mhux hazin u terga titla telgha ohra ghal gol-forti proprja...

Wine at dinner with grandpa

Young Puppybaby from Michigan is taking her grandfather back to his Maltese roots. From It's My Life:

im so exited i get to actually go to Malta (its a island under Italy) and thats a long way from i live cuz i like in Michigan, USA and its like a 10 hour flight to london then a 2 hour flight to Malta i know its a loooong way away. well im still going to be haveing fun and i'm only 11 and i got a pass port and i get to drink wine at dinner every night(dont worry it will be a small swig)lol, its so kool! the reason why were going is cuz its my grandapa's b-day and he was like born in Malta and he's 100% maltese and so were takeing him there for hiss 70th birthday...

Death of a former Prime Minister

The former British PrimeMinister Edward Heath died a few hours ago. Heath led the British government between 1970 and 1974, a period in which he engaged in protracted arguments with the Maltese government led by Dom Mintoff over the cost of defence facilities in Malta. He is mostly known for taking Britain into the European Union then known as the European Economic Community, a move that broke the stagnation of UK-Europe relations. His pro-European views put him at odds with his own Conservative Party in recent years. Much like the refusal by Mintoff (one month younger than the 89 year old Heath) to embrace his successor Alfred Sant, Ted Heath was very stubborn in his animosity towards Margaret Thatcher who led successive Conservative governments between 1979 and 1990. When Thatcher became PrimeMinister in 1979 she tried to send him away to the US by offering him the post of British High Commissioner there. He rejected her proposal with disdain and remained a thorn in her side till the very end. An obituary from the UK's Times:

Unshakably idealistic statesman whose term as Prime Minister was bedevilled by strikes and economic turmoil. Edward Heath did not move around other people,they moved around him - and in too many cases after his fall from office, they moved away from him. In any event he stood where he was: sometimes gracelessly, even sullenly, but with great strength and remarkable consistency of purpose. Throughout the long years of his dedication to the higher purposes of politics, his basic beliefs varied remarkably little. There may have been a slight wobble to the right just before and at the beginning of his premiership, but for the rest he was consistently faithful to the ideals of interventionist Conservatism and generous internationalism which he had embraced as a young man, and which he continued to advocate in his eighties..

Heath was eager to supply both the energy and the authority, and he achieved at last one triumph which, at least to some, makes him rank with Pitt, Peel, Asquith and Attlee as prime ministers who have set the nation’s course for a generation and more. He succeeded where Macmillan and Wilson had failed and got Britain into Europe. Partly by establishing an effective relationship with Pompidou (the only one between a British prime minister and a French president since the Fifth Republic began), Heath brought the negotiations to a successful conclusion and then won the crucial House of Commons vote by a majority of 112 in October 1971. This victory was aided by the votes of 69 Labour MPs, who defied a three-line whip, the Labour Party having shown more regard for factious opposition than for consistency. On January 22, 1972, Heath signed the treaty of accession in Brussels. It must have been one of the most satisfactory days of his life, even though he was doused in ink...

The story about Judith Miller and former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici which I posted last week has been quoted by the Malta Independent on Sunday. The story is published prominently on page 4 of the paper's printed edition.

Decaying but good

From CaptStav moblog:

I had to go to Malta to help try to sell some IT services to Air Malta. The Maltese people are very friendly. Air Malta's lawyer said "Why do you not want to live in Australia. If I was younger I would move there." I said that it is interesting to meet people in Europe, the diversity of peoples. She said: "People are bad, you want to be somewhere where there are no, or few, people - like Australia."

Ireland, Malta and the language of history

Joseph G Murphy in Illinois responds to Jim Yates's letter to the Irish Examiner. From Irish Examiner.com:

In his letter headlined ‘Irish language was marginalised by history’ (Irish Examiner, June 28), Jim Yates says the difference between Irish and Maltese as EU languages is that “all citizens of Malta speak Maltese”. Not so. There are three main languages in Malta. Two of them, Maltese and English, are official. The English language is a leftover of about 160 years of British colonisation of Malta. Italian is also spoken by a large number of Maltese citizens and used to be an official language. More and more young people speak Italian as result of Italian TV and radio broadcasts. The wealthier Maltese raise their children to speak English as their first language. The number of Maltese people fluent in Maltese has been dropping for many years in favour of English, Italian or, more often, a mixed language a pidgin having elements of the others.

This is true of Ireland where Hiberno-English is more often heard than the Standard English of Britain, although Hiberno-English is considered a dialect rather than an actual pidgin. Due to British colonisation the Maltese language has broken up into several dialects that have presented difficulties for speakers of one region to understand those of another. This happened in Ireland, too, where three primary dialects arose during British colonisation and suppression of Irish and is only now being addressed through intercommunication between the dialectical areas. So, Mr Yates' Maltese argument strengthens the Irish language cause since the case of Maltese so closely parallels that of Irish.

Oliver Friggieri and language change - Wired Temples
Language Headache - Wired Temples
The popularity of Italian - MaltaMedia

Obsessed with Lots of Things

Joanne at Obsessed with Lots of Things is coming back to Malta for the first time in thirty years:

Will be interesting to go to Malta again. Haven’t been in nearly 30 years. Want to go back to the Blue Grotto. And get the ferry to Gozo. When we did that last time, as we got close to Gozo, people started diving into the water from the top deck of the ferry. Wonder if they still do that? There were people playing bingo by the beach. And there was a massive cliff (well, I was 6, so maybe it’s not massive) where I heard my first Maltese swear words!!! I was 17 before I found out what they meant, as nobody would tell me, they were that bad...

Update: Joanne in Malta

Ananda's Malta diary

Ananda from India is based at Wake Forest University in North Carolina and blogs here with 'descriptions of travels in different parts of the world'. This diary is from a visit to Malta a couple of weeks ago:

Malta Day 1: Malta is a tiny island but very congested. The first thing to realize about driving in Malta is that distances between “towns” is miniscule so before you know it you have gone through 5 towns. Also, the road signs are horrendous. The arrows often do not make sense. We were thoroughly lost several times, and eventually got to the Westin Dragonara in Placeville... Had a great and relaxed sleep with the sound of the ocean in the background...

Malta Day 2: After lunch we walked back to the car and drove over to the Dingli cliffs. These are sheer cliffs that dropdown into the ocean. It was a hot-day. So spent just a little bit of time there and then decided to drive to the Blue Grotto, we were now in the heart of Malta and it was a strange rocky and desolate area. We were again miserably lost as we drove down narrow, steep gravel roads, using a few visible landmarks as compass directions. Not a soul around to ask questions. We eventually used the landmark of the cross of St. Joseph as a marker to finally wind our way down to the point where the boats for the Blue Grotto leaves...

Malta Day 3: Interestingly, in Malta we saw a large number of cars imported from India. There were Tata Indica, Maruti Van, Maruti 800 and other cars usually seen on Indian roads. We walked down the main street in Valetta and visited the Cathedral and the museum. Mikku had a bad fall outside the Cathedral. We then roamed around the back streets of Valetta stopping at souvenir shops and places. Had coffee and cake at a Café and eventually took a horse carriage ride (15 Maltese) around the entire city...

Malta Day 4: We had kept this day aside to be a beach day. It turned out that this was a national holiday, which meant that the beaches would be crowded. Anyway, after the usual coffee, Internet and pipe we got ready to get to the best sandy beach at Mellieha Bay. As expected, the beach was fully crowded. Based on information from a person at the hotel found our way to Anchor Bay. This too was crowded but it was more inviting. Bebo got a chance to romp in the waters of the Mediterranean as we sipped a drink. European beaches are usually far more crowded than in America and they are not as sandy. There was little surf too since these were all Bays and not facing the open ocean...

Malta Day 5: This was our last day in Malta. We packed and loaded the car in the morning and checked out around 11:00 am. Drove towards the old town of Vitoriosa and this was a great experience since we had some unstructured time. Drove down narrow lanes, by the Grand Harbor and eventually found ourselves at a fort. This was the first time I drove inside a fort along incredibly narrow and steep cobblestone paths but eventually reached a point with incredible views of the Harbor, Valetta and the surrounding areas. Then had lunch at a local pub where the food was good and cheap. Since we still had some time we decided to explore the less touristy side of Malta and ended up driving through sleepy small villages and also saw an ancient temple site from the outside....

Rebranding Malta

Julian Zarb writes for eturbo news on Malta's rebranding exercise. From travelvideo.tv:

Malta’s tourism industry was established as a solid pillar of the economy in 1958, some six years before the islands’ independence from the United Kingdom. A number of commissioned reports had been written up between 1963 and 1990 to ensure that the industry remains competitive.However, after forty years, the tourism industry in Malta and Gozo could, possibly, be facing the biggest challenge in its entire history – how to change from a British Mediterranean Resort offering sun and sea holidays to a Mecca based on its rich historical patrimony, its culture and traditions as well as its deep sense of hospitality and service...

About the Malta Tourism Authority
Valletta Malta waterfront project taking shape

Judith Miller's Malta connection - interview with former Maltese Prime Minister

Judith Miller, the New York Times journalist who has been jailed for refusing to comply with a court order, is the same journalist who had revealed to the world that the Maltese Prime Minister had saved the life of Muammar Ghaddafi by alerting him in time to the US air strikes that destroyed the Libyan leader's house nearly 20 years ago. Miller, whose current case has gripped the attention of the American media, has decided to go to jail rather than reveal a confidential source and testify before the grand jury. Judith Miller is also an old professional acquaintance of Godfrey Grima, a Maltese Fleet street trained journalist who has been writing for the Financial Times for several years. Miller and Grima met several times on assignments in Libya, Poland, the US and Italy.

Yesterday, I had a revealing conversation with the then Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici about Judith Miller and the interview he distinctly recalls giving her in Castille, months after the actual US air force attacks on Tripoli in the middle of the night of 15 April 1986. In the interview, which was published in the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was bluntly asked by Miller (tipped-off by the US intelligence services) whether he had alerted the Libyans to the attack. Mifsud Bonnici explained that he had personally informed Ghaddafi that unauthorised fighter planes had just crossed southwards over Maltese territory and he had felt duty bound to alert Libya since it was a friendly neighbouring country and because Malta had the responsibility of air traffic control in the central Mediterranean.

He gave me an account of how he learned at a later stage that the Americans had intercepted his messages to Libya and that they had known all along that the mission to assassinate Ghaddafi was foiled by his alert which was transmitted just minutes before the bombs were dropped on the Libyan capital . The attack was ordered by the Reagan administration with UK approval in response to Libyan support for attacks on U.S. servicemen in Europe. The American attack killed close to a 100 people including Gaddafi's adopted daughter.

The former Prime Minister who lives in Hamrun went on to explain that on the very same day of the American attack, the Libyan Prime Minister had been in Malta to bring a written undertaking from Ghaddafi that Libya was ready to embark on negotiations with Mediterranean countries with a view to prohibit and discourage terrorist attacks in the region. This was in response to an initiative by the Maltese Labour government which had written to all countries bordering the Mediterranean asking them to sign a formal anti-terrorism pact binding all signitaries. Mifsud Bonnici explains that the US administration had worked behind the scenes to successfully persuade the major European Mediterranean countries Italy, France and Spain ( all led by Socialists - Craxi, Mitterand and Gonzalez respectively ) not to sign any such pact. The then US ambassador to Malta, Gary Matthews today working at the US Institute for Peace, had said that the US 'discourages any regional initiative'. Cyprus was the only European country which had agreed to sign the pact.

The Maltese Government had then taken the case to the United Nations requesting the Security Council to condemn the attacks on Libya and calling on all states to enter negotiations. A majority of countries voted in favour of the resolution moved by the Maltese ambassador Gorg Agius (today president of the National Council for the Elderly) but was vetoed by the US and the UK with the Soviets abstaining.

Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, who today remains an enthusiastic anti war campaigner and who took centre stage in the last weeks with his opposition to the European Constitution, states that the attacks constituted a major setback for Maltese tourism in the mid eighties. When I asked him what he thought of the current controversy surrounding Judith Miller (who has been fervently campaigning over the last three years in favour of the war on Iraq) , he strongly defended her right as a journalist not to reveal her confidential sources.


The sins of Judith Miller by Russ Baker

Weekly Press Digest - july 7 to july 13

Wednesday13: EU presidency representative says EU is not in a position to assist Malta in dealing with illegal immigrants; The Green Party wants to abolish outdated Maltese rent laws; Skond Jose Herrera, din is-sena ma tantx kellna konfrontazzjonijiet kbar bejn z-zewg partiti rapprezentati fil-Parlament; Simon Busuttil thinks that political parties violate citizen rights on election day; Claude Zammit Trevisan says Valletta is currently experiencing an exciting period of positive change; From MaltaMedia, Maltese church cancels feast in Ghaxaq

Tuesday12: Alfred Sant on the legacy of the sixties; Continued financial support for Maltese agriculture necessary for Malta; 118 votes are no joke says Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici; Kenneth Zammit Tabona wonders what propoganda will be used by the political parties in the next election; Veteran tal-gwerra lura f’Malta wara 63 sena

Monday11: From Reuters, Malta among EU states to get official warning on electronic waste; From EU Observer, Malta seeks EU assistance on illegal immigration; Vince Caruana intervistat dwar il-faqar, il-pjaga tal-millenju

Sunday10: From TMIS, the MLP working group report on the 2003 elections; Charles Flores on the golf course controversy; Bird trapping in Malta will soon be a thing of the past; Temperature rise could spell ruin for Med tourism writes Vanya Walker-Leigh; Evarist Bartolo says that the EU should not prejudice Malta's neutrality while Alex Sceberras Trigona argues that the parliamentary ratification of the European Constitution was a sham; Matthew Vella interviews Anglu Xuereb; The MaltaToday editorial claims that the present two-party system has exhausted itself; Kurt Sansone on oil, inflation and illegal immigration headaches for Gonzi; Kollox jindika li l-gvern ta l-approvazzjoni tieghu ghal progett ambizzjuz li se jaqsam lil Malta fi tnejn; Victor Scerri dwar ix-xalati tal-festi Maltin; From MaltaMedia, controversy as Spielberg shoots film in Malta; Ta’ lanqas nippruvaw nitghallmu mit-tragedja, tikteb Marie Louise Coleiro

Saturday9: JG Vassallo takes a global look at the shape of things to come; John Attard Montalto on pruning a constitution and planting one; Sejba ta’ fdalijiet arkeologici fl-Imtarfa

Friday8: The International Herald Tribune reports that the Maltese parliament has unanimously ratified the proposed European Union constitution; Joe Fountain in London is in a state of shock; Haddiema Indjani f’Malta thallsu Lm20 fi tliet xhur

Thursday7: Ranier Fsadni attends the MLP general conference and says it had several climaxes but no catharsis; From MaltaMedia, Maltese perspectives on London bombings

Saving Little Malta

Shawn Micallef, the editor of Spacing magazine and a founder of the [murmur] project, recalls his childhood growing up in Windsor and describes the background to Maltese culture in and around Toronto, Canada. He writes that the Maltese have moved away from Little Malta but their culture remains. From Eye Weekly - At home on Dundas:

This is Malta Park in Toronto's Malta Village, occupying just a few blocks along Dundas. This area was the vibrant heart of the Maltese diaspora in Canada. Though not many businesses or residents here these days are Maltese, the Dundas strip remains an important part of this small and dispersed community... The mythic Toronto of my childhood imagination consisted of three things: the CN Tower, Mr. Dressup's house and Little Malta. We would take yearly trips to see Maltese friends in Milton, and make Sunday pilgrimages down to Dundas to eat at the Malta Bake Shop.

If you count people like me (half-bred and second-generation), the Maltese population in the GTA is about 20,000-25,000. Today, most of Toronto's Maltese live out in places like Milton. University of Toronto Professor John Portelli, who is researching Maltese-Canadians, has found there are concentrations of Maltese in west Etobicoke, Mississauga and further out in Brampton - but nothing like the visible concentration on Dundas Street..

I like to take people to the Malta Bake Shop, a block away from the church. Not just to get them to try to try the pastizzi and to "Taste of Malta's Delights" [sic] as the sign inside says, but to show them my secret corner of Toronto, one that has a picture of my great-uncle Johnny Catania on the wall. He was a Maltese comedian who entertained the troops in Malta while the Italian Air Force and the Luftwaffe did their best to bomb the island into the sea during WWII. In 1964, he gave up his Maltese television show to immigrate to Windsor with my dad's family..

The problem is people like me aren't moving back. I like that Little Malta is there, and it's comforting, but my allegiances to other parts of the city are just as strong. Sal D'Angelo of Junction Realty hasn't sold any houses to Maltese folks returning to the neighbourhood, but the culture is a big part of the area for him. "Malta Village should stay in the Junction," he says. "Maltese people should stay here." I hope a few of them stay around, too; losing Little Malta would be like losing the CN Tower.

Alex Ciappara responds to Shawn's article; Spacing Wire
Pastizzi in Little Malta - Wired Temples

Calling for European aid

Malta calls for European aid in dealing with illegal immigration. Elitsa Vucheva writes today for EUObserver:

The Maltese foreign affairs minister Michael Frendo has called on the EU for assistance in dealing with illegal immigration on the island. The minister has presented a 17-point document to explain in which fields Malta needs the most help in addressing illegal immigration, and why it has become an issue for the island, according to Maltese Di-Ve news. "Malta is the smallest and most densely populated country in the European Union and the second most densely populated country in the world", Mr Frendo has said, adding that "the 3,000 illegal immigrants that landed in Malta since 2002, are equivalent to 420,000 landing in Italy over the same short period of time". This is why the minister has asked for EU help in, for example, the repatriation of people who have not been granted refugee status, and the settlement of those who have...

The legacy of the sixties

Over the last months, Alfred Sant cleaned up his