Joseph Calleia

Joseph Calleia, a Maltese actor who was 'one of Hollywood's giants during the golden era of the silver screen', died 30 years ago today. Charles Mizzi writes that Calleia was in constant demand by the powerful Hollywood studios for over thirty years during the 40's up to the early 60's but became a recluse following his retirement in Malta:

..At his funeral there were only a handful of friends and relatives, including a cousin, Dr. Censu Tabone and the other Maltese film star, tenor Oreste Kirkop. His death hardly made any news in Malta, except an inside page report and a photo of his casket at the cemetery in the Times of Malta. Ironically, his death was splashed with great prominence on the RAI Italian news bulletin of the day. The Italians tried to take the credit. Confusingly, because he played so many parts of a Sicilian, RAI stated that Calleia was a famous Italian film star, but died in Malta..

Calleia bought a villa in Sliema, which most probably was one of the first to be installed with an elevator and air conditioners. He became a recluse as he was never a good mixer with people he never met. At later years in his life, he was often seen stopping for a tea or a coffee in some run down bar always by himself. He dressed humbly and sometimes stopped shaving for weeks.

Calleia retired in Malta at the age of 66. Few people can claim that they know him well. "He was a very reserved man. When people stopped him, his conversations were short and usually ended abruptly. He never liked publicity after he retired and he was only interviewed once on the then Rediffusion cable by Victor Galdes. He made only one public appearance - when he attended a Valletta fiesta and went out in a balcony to salute a crowd who were chanting his name.

However, when the Maltese tenor Oreste Kirkop went to Hollywood to make the "Vagabond King", Calleia called him to offer him all the help he needed. He asked him to stay at his villa not to stay in hotels, as "both of us are Maltese". His last major film was "The Alamo" in 1960, although he played a small part in his last film "Johnny Cool"(1963), before retiring in Malta for good..

Three of Joseph Calleia films were withheld by the local censors of the time and were never shown in Maltese cinemas. Joseph had a part of a priest in the film titled "Full Confession" that was banned in Malta. In 1936, while taking part in the film "Tough Guy" Joseph Calleia came out with the idea to sing a Maltese folklore ballad called "Ah Lilek tal-Gallerija". It was a ballad that he knew, when with other boys from Rabat he used to sing under the trees of Buskett gardens. MGM studios were skeptic that this ballad may have a copyright, and were afraid they will be sued for payment. But after accepting Calleia assurances that no copyright existed, Calleia was allowed to sing. It was the first and only time a ballad in Maltese was heard in a Hollywood movie. Joseph sang the Maltese ballad with boy actor Jackie Cooper, who today is a retired actor...

Calleia's grave; Calleia movies on VHS and DVD; TimeOut Filmography; Calleia by John Anderson

Literature across frontiers

'Re-Visions - Literary Exchange in an Enlarged Europe' is an international symposium that will be convened next weekend at St James Cavalier by Inizjamed and Literature Across Frontiers. The event will bring together '25 writers, literary translators, publishers, editors, organizers of literary festivals and representatives of literature organisations from 16 European countries'. Blogger Immanuel Mifsud will be one of the Maltese participants. From Tgedwid:

Naf li huma diversi l-kollegi bloggejja li tinteressahom il-letteratura li qiegħda tinkiteb fuq il-Blata. U naf ukoll li wħud minnhom jistaqsu jekk din il-letteratura hijiex tolqot il-miri (mitiċi jew le) li nimmaġinaw li hemm. Waħda minn dawn il-miri minn dejjem kienet li nkunu bħall-oħrajn, li nimxu pari passu mal-kumplament tad-dinja (jiġifieri l-Ewropa)..

..Issa, li Malta tħaxknet fl-imbierka Evropa, tajjeb li nerġgħu nqajmu dawn il-mistoqsijiet li ilhom iħufu fl-imħuħ. Did-darba iżda, ir-realta' hija differenti għaliex politikament Malta hija l-Ewropa. Il-mistoqsija tibqa' jekk kulturalment u mentalment, hijiex qiegħda hemm. Jonkella, il-mistoqsija hija jekk aħniex hemm bir-ruħ u bil-ġisem jew aħniex hemm bil-ġisem biss.

Biex ma ntawwalx (għax in-normi tal-bloggiżmu jiddettaw il-konċiżjoni) jekk int interessat li tistaqsi aktar (m'għandix dubju li mintix se twieġeb) tista' tattendi għal simposju li Inizjamed, flimkien mal-Literature Across Frontiers, qegħdin jorganizzaw fil-Kavallier ta' San Ġakbu, bejn nhar il-Ġimgħa u s-Sibt li ġej. It-tema: Re-Visions - Skambju Letterarju f'Ewropa Akbar.

Symposium programme

Where do we go from here?

Gavin Kennedy has taught in universities for 32 years and has published widely in negotiation behaviour and in defence economics. He is the author of "Adam Smiths Lost Legacy" and set up this blog and this book companion site. He was impressed by an article writtten by JG Vasallo in yesterday's Malta Independent. From Adam Smith Legacy Blog (29 Oct 05):

J. G. Vassallo writes an excellent article, “Where do we go from here?”, in Malta Independent On Line (The Malta Business Weekly, 29 October, St Julians, Malta), while discussing a brief recent history of political affairs in the island of Malta and the problems created by its governments. His answer to his own question, “Where do we go from here?” is a lovely link between Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” (March 1776) and the US “Declaration of Independence” (4 July 1776). I am not sure whether Jefferson had a copy of the “Wealth of Nations” in time for it to have influenced his drafting of the “Declaration”...That the sentiments of the “Declaration” and Smith’s works are of similar vintage is at least a reasonable assertion without implying conscious borrowings...

Firegoat Rant

Firegoat in Southall, London recalls the low points of her honeymoon in Malta:

Then we went on honeymoon to Malta. It was a last minute deal and we didn’t quite know what to expect, so we weren’t particularly surprised to be in a Saga hotel with a bunch of 90 year olds as well as the Moldovian football team and all their hangers-on. Having a two-year old and a pregnancy to take care of, it wasn’t the most carefree of holidays. Finding good vegetarian food was difficult; even though we tried a lot of the local fish we weren’t really impressed and felt hungry a lot. It was worse for our son because the food was quite unfamiliar to him, and after a few days he caught Salmonella from a badly boiled egg at the hotel..

One day we were walking around and were approached by someone offering us a free lucky dip which we accepted and then she told us we’d won the first prize, a gold pendant. I don’t know why we were sucked in, we must’ve been incredibly distracted, but we followed her to a hotel where we were supposed to pick up the prize. After waiting a while in the hotel she came and told us that we would be taken to another hotel to collect the prize. By this time we were a little suspicious...

Chemical scientists mystery meeting

An unpublicised meeting for international chemical scientists will take place in Malta sometime in November. Their focus will be on the situation in the Middle East. From PRNewswire:

Sometime in November, at a date and place that will not be publicized in advance, some 67 chemical scientists, plus six Nobel laureates will meet on the island of Malta for the continuation of collaborative discussions on topics of mutual concern. The brainchild of Zafra M. Lerman, an Israeli-born chemistry professor and head of the Institute for Science Education and Science Communication at Columbia College Chicago, the meeting is the second major gathering for most members of this elite group of scientists. The first was held in Malta in December, 2003. Lerman conceived and organized the event, chairs the organizing committee and recruited the participants. She believes that scientists, unlike politicians and diplomats, can lead the way to peace and cooperation in the Middle East...

Since the 2003 conference, participants have been actively engaged in collaborative efforts, including a joint proposal on water purification by Israeli and Palestinian participants that has been funded...Nobel laureates Aaron Ciechanover, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel; Richard R. Ernst, E.T.H., Switzerland; Roald Hoffmann, Cornell University, USA; Yuan T. Lee, Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Jean-Marie Lehn, Universite Louis Pasteur, France; and F. Sherwood Rowland, University of California, USA will present keynote addresses...

Dutch helping hand

The Netherlands has agreed to take refugees from Malta, Teresa Küchler reports for Euobserver.com:

..As a first step, the Netherlands will receive 30 refugees from the Mediterranean island group, with Dutch immigration authorities also offering to train their Maltese counterparts on handling migrant flows. "They have understood our position, and have agreed voluntarily to help us without anything in return", the Maltese foreign minister Michael Frendo told EUobserver on Friday (28 October), adding that media and political discussion of EU states facing immigration problems has been somewhat unfair recently..

The Czech Republic has also announced that it is willing to help Malta, while Ireland and Germany have also responded positively to the Maltese call..."With a population of 400,000 people, for us to receive one immigrant is like Italy receiving 140", he said.

A spokesperson for the EU justice commissioner, Franco Frattini, said that bilateral agreements between member states were welcomed by the commission, although other measures will be needed to get a grip on illegal immigration at EU level. "We see these agreements as tokens of solidarity between member states, but re-settlement does not solve the issue in itself", he said..

Meanwhile, EU leaders gathered in Hampton Court, UK, on Thursday showed support for a Spanish-French proposal on tackling illegal immigration, releasing €400 million to finance the plan. The commission plans to take the best bits of the various initiatives to establish a pan-EU policy on the subject, a spokesman said.

Illegal immigration: Italy - Malta collaboration

Malte Tricolore

Didier Destremau, former French Ambassador to Malta, has just launched a new book - Malte Tricolore - an 'imagined description of Malta had the French not let it be taken over by the English'. The book is translated by Simone Mizzi and published by Midsea books. From The Times:

..Well researched and amusing, Malte Tricolore gives a counter-factual account of a French Malta and takes the reader through the last two centuries. It describes the social, economic and political evolution of the Maltese islands as it might have been had Malta remained French from the time of Napoleon's return, breaking through the British blockade, to the granting of Independence in 1964 by....Charles de Gaulle, and on through to EU accession, a subject on which Ambassador Destremau was particularly forthright.

The reader will meet several well-loved historical characters along the way, from Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton to many a Maltese heroic figure and political leader. Malte Tricolore carries some rare and colourful illustrations of Malta and will be sold at Lm4.95. Lighthearted and satirical, but with his great love of Malta evident on every page, this is Ambassador Destremau's third book on Malta but the first to be translated into English and published in Malta...

Austrian version of Maltese history

Natasha Turner writes about a Malta history book written by Vienna-born Andreas Pittler, biographer of Bruno Kreisky, Monty Python and Samuel Beckett. She quotes Dr Pittler:

"Malta is not only an extremely beautiful island with very nice people on it, but it has also a very fascinating history. There are so many topics that would deliver enough stuff for a couple of novels, beginning with the interesting people of the Stone Age, going forward to the Greeks and Romans, the days of the Arabs, the era of the knights of St. John until the time of its Independence. I find each stage very thrilling. There are a lot of persons who would deserve to have a biography written about them (Parissot, Strickland, Mintoff a.s.o.), since they has contributed so much to Europe's history. Although being such a small nation, Malta is really amazing. You have superb beaches, very good food and wonderful people. I found your hospitality always overwhelming, and if it weren't for the smoking-ban I would really intend to live permanently there someday."...

Malta News Digest - October20 to October26

Wednesday26: Malta sends aid to Pakistani quake victims International Film Festival starts 2 November; EC raps Malta on non-implementation of environment directive; Joghla l-petrol utittrippla t-taxxa fuq id-dawl u l-ilma; Alfred Sant mistieden tal-PM Ingliz
Tuesday25: From workpermit.com, UK to help Malta fight illegal immigration, and more; Power surcharge goes up to 55%, increase in petrol price; 'Public finances remain a key priority for Malta'-IMF; Employment in the EU - Malta has highest rate of inactive people; Hruq fil-Kullegg ta’ Sant’ Agata; Dun Karm twieled u miet fix-xahar ta’ Ottubru minn Anton Cassar
Monday24: From The Scotsman, British and Maltese PrimeMinisters have breakfast together; From Reuters, Avian flu did not kill birds on ship in Malta port; From the Indian Financial Express, Prime Minister to attend CHOGM; Interview with Harry Vassallo by Michael Carabott; Eliminating discrimination, interview with Sina Bugeja; Interview with Fr Mark Montebello; Irregular immigration - Europe is part of the solution - Joanna Drake
Sunday23: Ten years and nothing to show, Noel Grima on the Euro Med Barcelona process; Malta’s plight in layman’s language by J. G. Vassallo; Migrating birds and people by Marisa Micallef; Chatting safely on the Net by Juan Ameen, more from Eurobarometer; MEDAC's Euro-Mediterranean diplomatic vocation; Serious television is something we lack, by Pamela Hansen; Economic and political tandem, by Manuel Borda; Fuel to the fire, interview with GRTU Director-General Vince Farrugia; In-‘nazzjonalizmu’ minn Fr Mark Montebello; Pont minn Pembroke ghal Pennsylvania minn Charles Flores
Saturday22: Waste disposal in front of National Poet's house condemned; The spring of hope... the winter of despair, by Lino Bugeja
Friday21: From the BBC, Immigrant frustration for Malta; Small is increasingly beautiful - EIU's Dan o'Brien on FDI in Malta by David Lindsay, more from the Business Weekly - interview with MDC's Philip Micallef; Timing is everything by Alfred Mifsud; Malta 'least corrupt' of new EU states
Thursday20: From IPP Media, former President of Malta to lead Commonwealth election observers in Tanzania; From Travel Video TV News, Julian Zarb reports on new Malta hotel; Bells ring in Malta to commemorate Battle of Trafalgar; Verheugen addresses European Tourism Forum in Malta; Learning the past to understand the present by Daphne Caruana Galizia; What if the French had stayed on in Malta? - new book by Didier Destremau, former French ambassador to Malta; Never mind golf, turn to the sea, by Tony Zammit Cutajar

Lockerbie doubts

Citing flawed evidence and a suspect Maltese witness, Magnus Linklater writes in today's London Times that 'it's time to look again' at the Malta link in the Lockerbie case:

From the clothing in which the cassette player had been wrapped, detectives were able to trace it back to Malta, and there close questioning of the shop owner where the clothes had been bought implicated two agents of the Libyan intelligence service. It was, said Lord Fraser at the time, old-fashioned detective work of the highest order — and it was enough to secure al-Megrahi’s conviction in 2001. The complications of a Middle East link were shelved. There the matter might well have rested, save for a series of allegations that have emerged over the past year, and which suggest that this apparently watertight evidence may be not only flawed, but might possibly have been tampered with..

All this might easily be dismissed as the conspiracy fog that tends to gather around cases of this kind. Except that last weekend Lord Fraser himself, who was in charge of the Crown evidence, suggested that he too had begun to have doubts. In an interview with The Sunday Times he said that the Maltese shopkeeper, Tony Gauci, whose identification of the two Libyans was central to the prosecution case, might not have been a reliable witness. He was, said Lord Fraser, a “weak point” in the case, who might have been “easily led”. He added: “Gauci was not quite the full shilling. I think even his family would say [that he] was an apple short of a picnic. He was quite a tricky guy . . .” ...

Lockerbie background from the Guardian and CNN;
MaltaMedia special feature

Quitting Eurovision

From doteurovision, Grace Borg quits Maltese Eurovision team:

Grace Borg, the chair of the Maltasong board has resigned, blaming excessive interference by government officials. “I cannot continue working in an atmosphere where every single decision is vetted by the minister and everything is controlled by his representative,” Borg said yesterday. She had worked for several years with the board responsible for organising the ‘Song for Europe’ and Junior Eurovision entries for Malta..

Ms Borg said she had sent her resignation letter to the minister and to the Prime Minister last Tuesday but she failed to understand why the minister chose to announce it on Sunday, when she was overseas. Asked if she would reconsider her decision to resign, Ms Borg said that unless the minister’s representative resigned, she would not withdraw her resignation.

Eurobites - gossip and rumours about Eurovision; EurovisionMalta

Maltese in Belgium

MIBA - A new organisation that aims to bring together Maltese residents in Belgium. Via Maria in Brussels:

Refreshing experience, here in Brussels. There is a new initiative taking place here in Brussels - MIBA, Maltese in Belgium Association. We had the first meeting yesterday and I felt at home...imagine this... I had to leave early from work to go to this event, but work didnt allow that, was raining cats and dogs, had to walk for 20 minutes when I had to be there 30 minutes before...I ring building number 289 and as I open the door and I see sooooooooooooo many familiar faces from Malta...unbelievable..

We drank Maltese wine, beer.. good food and most important of all... the familiar language, the Maltese patriotism.. our gestures... our Malta........
My community here in Brussels is growing stronger and stronger...it really feels like home...

A more rational system

The Maltese Prime Minister met with Tony Blair yesteday in 10 Downing Street. Answering a question about illegal immigration during the press conference, Blair had this to say:

Well we did have a conversation about this, and as the Prime Minister made clear, this is a major issue for Malta, and indeed for other countries in the European Union. It is quite useful probably for my own media and public here to hear it is a major problem in Malta, it is a problem all over the European Union, indeed I would go further and say all over the world at the moment. And what is happening is that as part of globalisation you are getting these vast numbers of both economic migrants and genuine refugees who perfectly naturally want to search for a better life, but that then ends up as a major problem for the host country that takes them in. And so what we were discussing is how we get a more rational system in place so that you know countries aren't expected to do more than they can...

More from MaltaMedia; Blair - Gonzi press conference transcript

Iceland eyes on Malta

Maria Alva in Iceland says that 'Malta's history kicks Iceland's Viking butt any day'. From Iceland Eyes:

..I had thought that this building had housed the consulate to Malta here in Reykjavík because I was in University with a girl who lived here: her father was some kind of consulate and Malta always stuck in my mind. But it seems its been a guesthouse for a while now. Just goes to show how creative our minds can be with bits of information. Malta is very interesting, though. It's a country with an only slightly larger population than Iceland, with 400,000 citizens who are jam-packed onto two rocky islands totalling only 115 square miles. Talk about crowded.

Without meaning any disrespect to my own island culture, I have to say Malta's history kicks Iceland's Viking butt any day. Thought to have been settled by an ancient civilization in the very early bronze age, more than 7,000 years ago, Malta has been changing hands ever since: from Vandals to Arabs to Brits, the country has been plucked from the Mediterranean as a prize by countless land-hungry rulers, and pawned for trade a number of times. Icelanders, on the other hand, have written a couple of famous books and have managed to cling to their lava rock for about a thousand years or so. Not a mean feat in itself, but slightly less fantastic sounding than the saga of the Maltese...

Spotlight on Andrei Claude

Andrei Claude won the Mr. Romance International pageant held in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. His prize is a contract with Harlequin Publishers to appear on romance novel book covers as well as a contract with Oxygen Media/TV. He discusses his Malta connection in this interview with Janice Lynn:

Janice: After the Romantic Times convention, you stayed in the States for several weeks. Can you tell us about some of the things you did? What did you think about the US? Any major differences from Malta (I think this is where you said you were from, but correct me if I'm wrong)? What was your best experience? Your worst?

Andrei: Yes, after the Romantic Times convention I spent another four weeks touring the States. The main reason for that was to meet up with different agencies around the country and see what kind of response I got. I also had a few test shoots scheduled with some local photographers in New York, New Jersey, Las Vegas and Kansas City.

Oh . . . I absolutely love the US ! The people are great and the country is beautiful. Malta is nothing like the US. The size of the entire island is 122 square miles, and there’s almost 380,000 people living there, so as you can imagine it’s densely populated. The people there are somewhat conservative and not very open to new ideas, unlike American folks who always crave for something new. I would have to say the RT convention was the best experience, and it’s not merely because I won the Mr. Romance pageant, but I also made a lot of friends, and I really enjoyed myself at the evening parties and meeting so many interesting people...

A Few Quiet Moments - Andrei Claude talks to Marjorie

'Patschewill'

Tobias Singer is staying at the University Residence in Lija and keeps this blog to document his Malta experience. In this entry, he writes about Malta's nightlife:

Paceville ist Maltas Partystadt und wird so ausgesprochen wie in der Überschrift. Eigentlich ein Traum, dass es so was hier gibt, hatte schon ein bisschen Angst, dass es auf so einer kleinen Insel auch kaum Nachtleben gibt. Das absolute Gegenteil ist aber der Fall. Allein in Paceville ist abends mehr los als in ganz Bremen. Leider hat Paceville zwei Probleme: Zu viele deutsche und englische Touristen (naja gut, für die wurden die ganzen Clubs wohl gerade gemacht) und eine Auswahl an verschiedenen Stilen, die bei der Anzahl an Lokalitäten doch schon sehr bescheiden ist. In fast jedem Laden läuft die gleiche Musik, man hat eigentlich nur die Auswahl zwischen Black Music und Charts-Trance. Mit etwas Glück findet man auch House und etwas alternativere elektronische Musik...

Inquiry Collective

The Inquiry Collective (i5) came together while working on a project in Northern Ontario, Canada. The inquiry method "emphasizes the space between the hand and the body as a site from which artist's investigation and research can be authentic and fruitful". From i5 inquiry:

Sites chosen for investigation are both literally and figuratively "touch stones" where the i5 collective continues to focus on stone as a kind of world membrane manipulated by the human hand throughout the history of our species and through which cultural practices pass. The oldest proto-architectural stone structures on the planet are on the tiny Island of Malta home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

i5 will spend 14 days in Malta inquiring into the stone remnants of the Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum, Ghar Dalam, Mnajdra, Hagar Qim, Gganitja, and Tarxien all listed by UNESCO in its world heritage sites. In addition Malta, always an important strategic site in the Mediterranean, has Roman Ruins and many mediaeval stone sites as well as the Baroque City of Valetta, another UNESCO world heritage listing, with its centuries of fortifications.

Read about the Malta Projects of the Inquiry Collective members

Histories of Malta

Judge Giovanni Bonello's 6th volume of the 'Histories of Malta' series, published by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, was launched yesterday. From the Malta Independent:

The latest volume of Histories is Patrimonju’s 28th publication, and a worthy successor to the previous collections. Once again, the Histories contain a range of contents to suit every palate, from finger food from the tables of Maltese history to gambling and Malta-made playing cards of the Knights of St John, from two articles about Caravaggio to the fascinating story of a Knight of Malta and Lucretia Borgia.

Dr Xuereb said the original research carried out for this volume that covered Maltese social and medical history was outstanding. As were the articles on gambling and Maltese playing cards, the essay with a medical background and a 17th century baroque romance by the Maltese Cagliola. He added that he was also impressed with the memoirs of the Spanish knight, Alonso de Contreras...

Immigrant frustration

Daniel Sandford filed this report for BBC news about the issue of illegal immigration in Malta:

As you walk the historic streets of the Maltese capital Valletta, there is little sign of the turmoil on the Mediterranean islands. Tourists mingle with shoppers in the ancient streets laid out in an unusual grid pattern. In the centre of the tiny city is the building that houses the Malta Emigrants Commission. From these offices, generations of Maltese migrants prepared to leave and start new lives overseas. But the main corridor is now packed with young Africans - men, women and children. These are not people who are about to leave Malta, they have just arrived. It is the first sign that everything is changing..

..The government is asking if some other EU countries cannot help by taking some of the asylum-seekers. Just a few hundred less would make an enormous difference. They are running out of places to house them. The new arrivals are having a disturbing affect on Maltese politics. While we were there, a new far-right party, the Alleanza Nazionali Republikana, staged the first anti-immigrant rally..

..They also say something very unusual for immigrants. They all want to leave. They came to Malta by mistake. They were crossing the Mediterranean between Libya and Italy. Thousands make the journey each year in tiny boats. Many die, but some end up in Malta after running out of fuel, or losing their way...

More on blogging

A warm welcome to new readers of this blog particularly those who are visiting via today's Weekender on The Times. If you are interested in reading more about the blogosphere, the following links may be useful material for browsing:

Wikipedia - the best introduction to blogging

On Maltese blogs: I blog, therefore I am and A blogger's world and Welcome to the Blogosphere

List of Maltese Blogs - from aboutmalta.com

Web of Influence - from Foreign Policy magazine

The blogging revolution - from Wired magazine

Technorati Tag: Blogging

Toni Sant: Digital Communities and Malta's internet image

Political Blogs and Index of Political Blogs

More on Wired Temples; Monthly 'Top Ten Maltese Blogs Entries': September; August; July - more in archives on sidebar

Pirates hijack Maltese ship

From Reuters, Pirates hijack Maltese ship off Somali coast:

Somali gunmen have hijacked a Maltese ship in the pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia in the latest of a spate of such incidents that have prompted strong maritime warnings, officials said on Friday. Pirates seized the Maltese-registered MV Pagania on Thursday with 22 Ukrainian crew members aboard, according to Ukrainian officials.

The ship was on its way from South Africa to Europe with 15 tonnes of iron ore. The pirates have demanded a $700,000 ransom for its release. Andrew Mwangura, a Mombasa-based seafarer official who received a VHF radio signal from the ship during the hijacking, said the gunmen ordered the captain to surrender at gunpoint.

Maltese dreamscapes

RM Vaughan is a Toronto based writer and filmmaker whose latest book, Invisible to Predators, is available from ECW Press. He is also the author of magazine articles and a National Post column that he archives in his blog. In this entry, he writes about the latest exhibition by John Borg at the O'Connor Gallery in Toronto. From Rmvaughanink:

..John Borg’s new collection of gouache on paper works at the O’Connor Gallery is a lovely reminder of why art that relies on and celebrates the impulsive gesture will always prompt an immediate emotional response. Few of us, let’s admit it, are careful planners or emotionally cautious, and art that reflects our own impulsiveness (and the subsequent vulnerabilities that that impulsiveness prompts) speaks to us with a febrile directness. If Borg were a singer, he’s be wobbly but real Morrisey, not note perfect but plastic Mariah..

Visitors to the O’Connor Gallery expect a heaping helping of nekkid menfolk..but after they ogle Borg’s supine and slippery slabs of flesh, they might be surprised to find themselves just as drawn to the painter’s luminous and ghostly paintings of Maltese interiors.

Compared to his model studies, the Malta paintings are much more cloudy, as if seen through a snow globe, and are washed with a muddied, indirect light. The dusty, sunburnt church corridors and narrow, haunted streets reveal themselves only in faint bursts of light, in patches of clarity surrounded (sometimes smothered) by a murky indistinctness so thick and watery it made me wonder if the paint had dried. These are dreamscapes, not travelogues...

Recent paintings by John Borg

A thirty-year love affair with Malta

The Periscope is the companion weblog to the Euro-correspondent.com journalist network. This entry features an Independent article about the Whitehead couple's 'thirty-year love affair with Malta'. From Periscope:

In 1948, Walter Whitehead, a young British soldier on his way home to England, spotted Malta from afar. Little did he know that he and his wife would be visiting that small island more than 90 times over a period of 30 years. “When we first arrived in Malta, it was very different – there were fewer buildings and more fields,” Aida Whitehead told The Malta Independent yesterday. “When we first stayed at Qawra, there were only two hotels, all the rest was fields.” Now on their 96th visit to Malta, there is little doubt that the couple have truly fallen in love with the island. They also love staying in Qawra and this is the 30th time they are staying at the Palm Court Hotel...

Observing Tanzania

From IPP Media - Guardian of the United Republic of Tanzania, former president of Malta, Prof Guido de Marco, to lead Commonwealth observers for Tanzania elections:

Former President of Malta and chairman of the Commonwealth Foundation, Prof Guido de Marco, will lead a team of Commonwealth poll observers to the country during the general election set for October 30. Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon made the announcement in a statement issued by the Communication and Public Affairs Division of the Commonwealth secretariat in the United Kingdom yesterday..

..The statement said the secretary-general’s decision to send a team of observers was at the request from the Tanzanian government. An assessment mission from the Commonwealth secretariat visited the country last month and established that the team had the support of the government. The observers have been invited in their individual capacities and the views they express regarding the elections will be their own and not those of either their respective governments or the Commonwealth secretariat,’ the statement added.

More from The Times

Malta News Digest - October13 to October19

Wednesday19: Malta 12th most transparent in EU; Meeting targets set by Lisbon Agenda; Bird flu simulation exercise
Tuesday18: MLP discusses illegal immigration in Libya; Reaching out to the poor, by Fr Frankie Cini; Bird flu - Tests on poultry, wild ducks ; Malta war veteran tells of emotional reunion; Malta proposes small states network in World Bank, IMF; Avviz bi hlas, minn Toni Abela
Monday17: Guy Ritchie planning his next movie Knights of Malta; Cohesive and focused - David Kelleher talks to Alfred Sant; Interview - A direct link with Brussels; Talking Point - Baying at the moon by Lino Spiteri, and more; Il-Festival ta’ l-Ibliet Storici: Il-Konti Ruggieru “lura” fl-Imdina; Il-pustier li sar professur
Sunday16: From the People's Daily Online, the Chinese vice premier 'speaks highly of Sino-Malta relations'; MaltaMedia among finalists of Malta Journalism Awards; Government to shut the stable door, by Noel Grima; Time for the Church to speak out, by Caruana Galizia; Game of Chinese mirrors, by J. G. Vassallo; Flores on the Akkademja tal-Malti; Dorothy Dunnett Siege of Malta; Why the US is building a new embassy in Malta; Smash and grab, James Debono talks to Smash TV owner; Il-Prim Ministru jrid icaqlaq il-Monument tal-Helsien; It-taqbida bejn il-progress u t-tradizzjoni, minn Charles Flores
Saturday15: EU embarks on 'listening' blitz; Se jkollna bazi tan-NATO f’Malta?
Friday14: Ggantija temples restored; Muniti ta’ zmien il-krucjati, minn Daniela Attard Bezzina
Thursday13: Sheffield United on ground-breaking tour of Malta; Majority of students have access to the Internet; Online poll respondents admit to racism and intolerance; EU needs to develop its own ME policy - de Marco

Boosting tourism

From the Europa site, European Tourism Forum in Malta: Boosting a multi-billion euro sector:

The tourism industry is one of the leading global economic activities, a multi-billion-euro industry with 700 million international travellers per year around the world, and more of half of them visiting Europe. By 2020 international travellers will more than double to 1.6 billion. The European Commission organises a European Tourism Forum every year to exchange views on how this important branch of industry will remain competitive. The fourth edition of the Forum, to be held in Malta on 19 to 21 October 2005, will highlight, amongst other, better regulation and sustainable development...

European Tourism Forum - Malta

Parliamentary soul searching

The chairman of the foreign affairs parliamentary committee takes a cue from Eurobarometer to ask a number of pertinent questions. It is not too difficult to come up with some of the answers - Parliament is not the only Maltese institution that requires reform. From today's Times:

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi yesterday urged fellow MPs to discuss why, according to a Eurobarometer survey, the level of trust in the Maltese Parliament had fallen to 38 per cent from a high of 56 per cent in the Spring of 2003. Dr Azzopardi said in an adjournment speech in the House that this survey finding should serve as an eye-opener and an opportunity for soul searching. It was no comfort that confidence had also declined in the Parliaments of other countries.

Had the Maltese people become disillusioned with the way Parliament worked? Was it because the people were not yet truly informed about the workings of Parliament? Was it because the House needed to communicate its message better? Did the House need a Press and Communications Office? Was it because of the way Parliament was reported, or not reported, in the press? Was it because MPs were finding it difficult to reach out to their constituents while attending to ever-increasing parliamentary duties? Was it because Parliament was still considered as being a government department - the only Parliament in the EU which still lacked autonomy and flexibility?...

Partying

Björn Strömblom 'reporting live from Malta' for the Swimp Blog. Episode 512, From Malta with love, with photos:

I've been down here for about 4 weeks now and I think I'm starting to get a pretty good feel for what Malta is all about. Well I could say something sophisticated like the unique architecture or all the nice people, but since this is a blog and not a traveling magazine I better stick to the truth, so what is Malta all about? Let me spell it out for you, P A R T Y I N G! Yes that all they do except work their asses off for something which is about a half Swedish minimum wage. And then they go clubbing! And this isn't only the younger ones, this applies for every one from the age of 16 to 60. Well yeah, don't be chocked if you see a 50 year old dude shake his ass with a 25 year old hot Maltese girl. I'm telling you this is a crazy country. I'm used to drink every now and then, mostly weekends, but since when I got here it's been like weekend every day of the week...

Second thoughts

Today on Reuters, 'Malta robbers snatch woman's purse, then return it':

Two hooded gunmen who robbed a pharmacy returned an elderly woman's purse after she told them it contained the only money she had to buy medicine, Maltese newspapers reported on Tuesday. The two men barged into a pharmacy at Marsascala, a seaside village in the south of the island, on Monday and took 600 Malta liri (957 pounds) from the till after threatening the pharmacist with their guns. One of them grabbed the purse held by the elderly woman who was waiting to be served, then handed it back after her pleading and rushed out to a waiting motor cycle.

On the way to Afghanistan

SC Eagle blogs about his military deployment at A storm in Afghanistan but is currently on a family break in Malta. His observations about Malta begin as a reflection on the island's history and heritage and end as a contemplation on war and peace. From Scenes from Malta:

Some have asked what there is to do in Malta. Good question. After a week here, I can tell you - we're not sure. Malta's been around for thousands of years. Being that it's directly in the middle of the Med, has a large natural harbor, and is a large chunk of rock in the middle of the sea, it was destined to be stumbled upon by people in boats, as far back as the early Phoenicians (check your history books)..

On some tours, they'll point out all the fortifications. On other tours, they discuss all the times Malta's been conquered. Conclusion - Malta has built a lot of unsuccessful, yet impressive fortifications. All that said, Malta is an impressive, sleepy town. Yes, yes, Malta is really many towns, but it really seems like one big town. Everything is tucked into corners and any available spot that can be found. The people are friendly. Crime seems minor. The newspaper carries such major stories as the new car fleet at Avis and McDonald's has a new menu. We have had quite a bit of fun just wandering and meandering. We picked up a stack of brochures and tried a few of the tours..

Some interesting experiences? Well, on one day, while wandering around the capital of Valleta, we learned that there was going to be a military tattoo. A tattoo is basically like a military music concert / marching demonstration...Of a special devious pleasure for me, there was a protest set-up in a square just down the street from the square where the tattoo was...All the goodies were there. There were signs for "Peace Not War", "All Different, All Equal" (not a math major), protests against McDonald's, Nike, Adidas, the usual exhortations for workers to unite... I was just soooo tempted to go and introduce myself and what I do for a living, but...

Heavy rain

Kevin Blake, who blogs at Even the wrong words seem to ryhme, compares the consequences of heavy rain in Malta and Cyprus. From 'It never rains in Cyprus':

I actually feel rather fortunate to be in Cyprus while it’s raining. Just a few days ago I wondered what it would be like. A few years ago I visited Malta during the middle of February. Malta is supposed to be gorgeous sunshine for all but about 5 days in the year - where it rains heavily. Because of that, they don’t really care about small things like rain - so when it does rain - there is quite a large flood problem on the hilly roads.

There was nothing at all like that in Cyprus. This rain hasn’t exactly clogged the streets, and there appears to be more than adequate drainage. Nobody’s been running through the city screaming of the end of the world, nor dancing in the streets. With the exception of a few shop workers coming to watch from under the cover of their shopfronts, everyone’s gone about their business as if nothing’s different to the day before...

Sino - Malta relations

From the People's Daily Online, the Chinese vice premier 'speaks highly of Sino-Malta relations':

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said in Beijing Friday it is in the interest of both nations and peoples to further develop the friendly relations between China and Malta. Hui, also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remark at a meeting with Tonio Borg, deputy prime minister and deputy leader of the Nationalist Party (NP) of Malta.

Hui said both the CPC and the Chinese government attach great importance to the bilateral relations and are ready to join hands with the NP and the government of Malta to promote the comprehensive and in-depth development of the party-to-party and nation-to-nation relations. Borg said the Malta-China friendship is deeply rooted in the heart of the two peoples, and will be consolidated and further developed with the joint efforts of the two governments and political parties.

More from China View

A gradual transition back to Europe

For Dave, who is touring Italy and Tunisia, landing in Malta is a 'gradual transition back to Europe'. Before moving on to Sicily from Tunisia, he stops for two days to explore Malta:

The place we’re staying, the Asti Guest House on St. Ursula Street 18, is a delightful little B&B run by an old lady and her sister. The house has been in the family for generations. The lady’s husband, who died a few years ago, had been an electrician who liked collecting crystal from broken chandeliers; he assembled a massive beautiful chandelier out of them which hangs from the stone arches in the breakfast room..

The guidebook recommended a restaurant in Marsascala which turned out to have a stupid menu; the next one we stumbled on was a wonderful little place called Tal-Familja which basically made us a Maltese tasting menu with fish soup, pumpkin soup, octopus stew, fried cheese, and lampuki, their favorite fish which is in season only in September and October. The wine was also quite good, and they were very nice, popular with locals and tourists alike..

Monday we set out to explore Valletta, the capital city where we’re staying. We went to the Museum of Archaeology, where the best artifacts from the prehistoric sites around the island are collected. In addition to spiral designs on rocks much like at Bend of the Boyne in Ireland, there are many representations of animals and humans. There was even a tiny model of a temple. Then we went to St. John’s Co-Cathedral, a large church which, though rather plain on the outside, had every square inch of floor, wall, and ceiling decorated on the inside. It was also packed with people. The floor was essentially a mortuary in which the person buried beneath each 1 x 3 meter plot had an inlaid stone picture in which he was illustrated as a skeleton in some context..

In the afternoon we set back out to see some of the prehistoric places which had been closed late on Sunday. There was a cave called Ghar Dalam in which many, many bones from European hippopotami, elephants, deer, and other animals had been found: these were exhibited in the “old museum” sorted by bone type — all the molars here, all the toe bones there, etc. A “new museum” room was a little more explanatory, showing where everything fit in in the timeine of the Earth. The Hagar Qim and Mnadrja temple sites were similar to the Tarxien temple we saw on Sunday, but on closer inspection revealed even more in common with the Boyne site, including alignment with the sun (it would shine in particular places on equinoxes and solstices), and corbelled roofs (slabs gradually inset over each other)...

Michael Sandle

The London artist who created the Malta Siege Bell Memorial in Valletta is exhibiting his works at The Drawing Gallery. Michael Sandle, one of Europe’s most original artists of the past fifty years has received numerous international awards. Inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II, thirteen years ago, the Siege Bell Memorial commemorates the dead of World War II. The bell rings daily at noon. From ArtDaily:

Reflecting upon the significance of drawing within his broad practice Sandle wrote recently: ‘I do not think of myself as being primarily a sculptor. I think of myself as being simply a visual artist. Drawing – and I include watercolour painting here – and printmaking – are as important to me as sculpture. I trawl my so-called ‘sub-consciousness’ or imagination for ideas and images. Drawing is for me the main method of fixing and developing these ideas and images, which may or may not be carried through into sculpture. My approach is not necessarily analytical, some things I just have to do because of neurotically obsessional or emotional involvement, but I do also often say to myself, quite objectively, “What would happen if I do this?” and try out many variations of an idea in my sketchbooks. It will be fairly obvious that my choice of subject matter does not reflect a particularly optimistic outlook; the human condition in my view is essentially tragic. This is perhaps why I have always been extraordinarily moved by the First World War.’

Too many memorials: 'Britain's ever-growing number of World War II memorials are marked more by vanity and kitsch than dignity and restraint—unlike the monuments built after the Great War'

Malta News Digest - October6 to October12

Wednesday12: Francis Berry’s ‘The Bride of Mosta’ launched; GWU calls for revision of cost-of-living calculation; Nelson and Malta: a naval hero’s vision; Bagit 2006: Il-GWU thabbar il-proposti
Tuesday11: Young Maltese violinist James Grech passes away; Chilean on Maltese warrant arrested in Miami; FOI calls for re-examination of lira’s fixed euro exchange rate; Birds without wings by Kenneth Zammit Tabona; Who were they? by Frank Salt; X’biza’!... se jiekluna, minn Joe Chetcuti; Gimgha dedikata lill-harsien tal-patrimonju
Monday10: From the Guardian, the Maltese language and the new $1billion industry for Europe; Malta Diary Project launched at Bay Street; Maritime employment by Censu Galea; BBC interested in memories of Queen
Sunday9: Lawyers claim Lockerbie evidence was erroneous; Another 70 immigrants repatriated to Egypt, Libya seeks control, and more; easyJet to be first major low-cost airline to fly to Malta; Scandal as regulator crosses over; Mobile phone costs from Malta under EU scrutiny; Racial tensions run high following ANR rally; Crusades: Myth and Realities; Racism has uncovered 'political opportunism'; Colouring Malta by Lino Spiteri; Humanitarian crisis by Pamela Hansen; Outrage as Arts Council scraps Francis Ebejer award; Malta’s bizarre Iraqi deal ; Gerald Digby - wiehed mis-suldati tal-azzar, minn Victor Scerri; Qalulu: “F’Malta jsewwu kollox”... u baqa’ hawn, minn Charles Flores; It-theddida tal-faxxisti, minn Fr Mark Montebello
Saturday8: Diocesan Commission discourages celebration of Halloween; Malta possibly used as front for WMD programmes; In depth study of 200 years of history in stone; Il-babaw, minn Wenzu Mintoff
Friday7: Manwel Micallef ‘does not exclude joining another union’; Promoting Malta in Romania; Fr Louis Mallia interviewed by Josanne Cassar; Wartime memories - Survivor of shattered dreams
Thursday6: Vandals strike Portes des Bombes once more; General Workers’ Union National Congress: Winner takes all; Government to sell 20 per cent MIA stake this month; Malta failing to apply for EU assistance programmes, Funding identified for members of parliamentary committee; Pre-WWII study on Malta's prehistoric remains retrieved

Overcoming shortages

A Maltese Bishop is advocating the principle of allowing priests to marry. Via J'Accuse blog:

One of the topics dominating the current three-week synod of more than 250 cardinals and bishops in Rome is whether priests should be allowed to marry. The reason behind the sudden attractiveness of this topic is that it is seen as a possible solution for the current shortage of priests. The Byzantine branch of Catholicsm has long accepted marriage finding no theological foundation for celibacy. Interestingly, among the supporters of the "married priests" solution is a Maltese bishop - Hamrun born Bishop Roberto Camilleri Azzopardi of Comayagua, Honduras. The celibacy question was not open to debate under Pope John Paul II but seems to be more acceptable under Benedict XVI. We'll wait and see shall we?

The Silversmith’s Shop

This coming weekend, the MLP headquarters will be the unlikely host of a play written by the late Pope John Paul called The Silversmith's Shop. The play, translated by Oliver Friggieri and directed by Reuben Gauci, is rooted in post-Nazi regime Poland. From the Independent:

Although this may still not be known by some, Karol Wojtyla was one of the founders of The Rhapsodiac Theatre – a secret theatre born amid an active policy towards the annihilation of Polish culture by the Nazi regime.

The one-act play, called The Silversmith’s Shop, (Il-Hanut ta’ l-Argentier) was written under a pseudonym by the late pope in 1960 when he was Bishop of Krakow. In it Wojtyla explores the theme of love and concludes that “Love is no adventure. It has its own specific burden.” To Wojtyla, real love is not relative. The Silversmith’s Shop was translated into Maltese by Prof. Oliver Friggieri in 1981...

Issue unsolved: Pope and divorce by Lorna Vassallo

'Distinguishing factor'

The Guardian yesterday published an article about Malta and the language question written by journalist Duncan Campbell . When Duncan and I met in Valletta, I learnt that he had first discovered me via this blog. From the Guardian:

..Last week, a survey by the Eurobarometer agency showed that last year's enlargement had boosted the position of English and German at the expense of French. English is now spoken by 47% of EU citizens, while German has overtaken French as the second most widely spoken language...But while English may have increased its power through enlargement, the smallest languages in the EU have also come into their own...

In Malta, Dr Briffa believes that the EU offers a chance for the creation of a translation industry, although initially there has been a shortage of willing interpreters..The language, which is 1,000 years old, also faced problems with some of its own citizens, he said. "There is lots of prejudice against the Maltese language,"..The language, which has been written for only the last 200 years, has survived countless invasions. In the 19th century, Italian was the official language on the island and enjoyed favoured status until the second world war when, as Dr Briffa put it, "Mussolini joined the wrong side" and bombed Malta. English duly took over as the second language after the war..

"Language has always been crucial for Malta," said Robert Micallef, Malta editor for Eurobarometer and a member of the EU delegation to Malta during EU-Malta accession negotiations. "It is the one distinguishing factor that has enabled Malta to become a separate nation state unlike other - bigger and more resourceful - Mediterranean islands such as Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete, Rhodes, Majorca and Corfu. With the Maltese language being directly derived from Arabic and enhanced and changed over time by European influence - Latin, Sicilian, Spanish, Italian, French, English and Portuguese - it is symbolic of a cultural relationship that Malta can help promote between Europe and the Middle East and Africa."...

Hear Again

Ivan Carabott is 33 years old and lost his hearing 20 years ago. He has set up a blog called Hear Again to keep track of his progress 'towards obtaining a cochlear implant'. In this entry he describes his 'first step towards the implant:

Today I took my first, tottering, hopeful step towards obtaining an implant. I went to St. Luke's Hospital in G'Mangia and had a CT Scan. Basically, I went to St. Luke's with Mandy (and parked inside for 30c yipee no circling for ages anymore!), went to the X-Ray area, sat down for maybe 2 minutes -and to my utter amazement I was called in immediately.

I went in with a little trepidation - I'd had a CT scan 20 years ago when I first went to hospital when I lost my hearing. The process took something like 30 minutes, I froze half way to death - and since I'm deaf it was a bit of a sensory deprivation thing with my eyes closed, not hearing a thing and not being able to move. To cap it all, I was injected with a special radioactive dye to make my brain show up a little clearer (am I that brainless?!) Anyway, a very friendly nurse sat me down, braced my head so I wouldn't move - and the whole process took 30 seconds. Wow, talk about advances in technology...

Ivan's first entry

Lost in Transportation

Richard from British Columbia, Canada has British and New Zealand passports and is now working in Malta for a year or two. From Lost in Transportation:

..Maybe it's just because they care more about food here and want to infuse the noodles with more flavouring or something. Even the local workman's cafe offers dishes like smoked salmon penne and the icecream is divine (which is a little strange, since I doubt there's enough grass on Malta to support even one cow). I still haven't tried rabbit yet, so that's another thing to look forward to.

I have discovered why Mediterranian people tend to promenade - a much slower and more deliberate action than just walking. If you try walking in the Anglophone way then you get a sweaty back, almost no matter how short the walk is. The Anglophone way is walking like you're in a hurry to get where you are going, even if you aren't going anywhere. That said, the concept of walking without having anywhere to go is also fairly foreign to us Saxons...

Sleep is for the weak

Snubbing CHOGM

From Zimbabwe's leading news website, South Africa President Mbeki is staying away from the CHOGM meeting of Commonwealth leaders this November in Malta. Moshoeshoe Monare explains how Mbeki is 'miffed by what he saw as the conspiratorial agenda of some member states':

In a move interpreted as a protest, President Thabo Mbeki will not be attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta at the end of November. It is believed Mbeki felt let down by the meeting two years ago, when he took a pounding over Zimbabwe. While it is customary for heads of state to attend the biennial event, South Africa's delegation will instead be led by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka this year. Joel Kibazo, a Commonwealth spokesperson, said from London that although on the whole leaders attended, sometimes they did not due to pressing issues at home... He had not received any notification from South Africa that Mbeki would not be attending. "We expect the leaders to attend. This is a meeting for them, but sometimes they are in the middle of elections and cannot leave home," Kibazo said....

Miscellaneous Blogs (1)

David Kallen's Blog - Swiss, staying in Malta until December

Monfu's World - Johann's last week in Malta

Fructus Ventris - The influence of the Roman Catholic Church on midwifery practice in Malta

Moorish Girl Blog - The Maltese Problem, confronting immigration

Xewka Chronicles - Miju Mekkek's blog

Stefan Koski Blog - Discovering a young Maltese blogger

The dark corner of my mind - Malta India Beer

Pianoterzo - Italian blog by Maltese Vjola

Man called Misery - Contemplating move to Malta

Aura's Heaven - Giliane Fenech's Blog

Wired Temples Blog mentioned on Euractiv.com

Carmelo's New Zealand adventures

After graduating as a medical doctor in Malta, Carmelo Aquilina moved to the UK where he has been practising psychiatry for a number of years. He is now spending 4 months in New Zealand and has set up this blog as a travel diary. From New Zealand Adventures:

..I walk from Britomart to Parnell through streets other than Queen Street, which is a relief as it is now as familiar to me as Brighton sea-front. With the help of my street map of Auckland I find my way to the street where Bridget lives and call her to tell her I am there. She comes out to meet me and within a minute of seeing me asks me if I am Maltese. This is amazing, most people here have barely heard of Malta let alone known I was form there. However Bridget and her husband spent 6 weeks in Malta and Gozo many years ago and she had been to visit a friend in Malta last December. Bridget showed me pictures of her time in Malta and said she liked the country but thought it had been swallowed up by buildings and it felt shabby and dusty. I know what you mean Bridget … and you are right...

An alternative taxi service

New blogger Xi Kultant proposes a transport system that is much more cost effective. From Heavy Downpour:

This morning Malta woke up in a heavy downpour... as as you may note everyone was blocked. it took me 1 hour to pass from fleur de lys and psaila street in birkirkara. When would the transport ministry decide to start doing something innovative in public transport and REALISES that the issue boils down to branding and perception in addition to decent service?

And how about a taxi service which can pick you up from home and take you back for less than Lm1?... pool the people...staff a customer care centre to co-ordinate taxis in the street and offer prompt service... and many people would start using it, especially that diesel and petrol now cost a fortune!

Malta News Digest - September29 to October5

Wednesday5: From the Guardian, Duncan Campbell discusses Malta's immigration controversy; Is there racism in Malta asks Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando; Jiltaqa’ l-Kungress Nazzjonali tal-GWU
Tuesday4: From the Financial Times, Bush urges Malta to sign up to security pact; 70 illegal immigrants deported to Egypt, and more; University looking forward to more regional cooperation; Stipendji shah u inqas shah minn Gavin Gulia
Monday3: From The Jerusalem Post, 'Malta offers Palestinians desalination technology'; Maltese PM meets US President, and more; Poverty you can smell by Marisa Micallef; Natalino Fenech interviews right winger Martin Degiorgio, and more; New EU representative in Malta takes over; Joseph Muscat on flat tax success stories; L-ghada tar-rebha x’naghmel, isaqsi Emmanuel Micallef
Sunday2: Lino Spiteri's - Wide Angle - Insecurity in security; Malta in shock by Qrendi tragedy, and How could it have happened?; Tony Zarb vs Manwel Micallef: two visions of the union in conflict by Noel Grima; Stormy waters at ‘Akkademja’ AGM; Joe Tanti, Alfie Fabri join Super One Radio by Charlot Zahra; Malta, a remote town in Norway and other points by Matthias A. Merzhäuser; Lawrence Gonzi scores low as finance minister; Philip Beattie talks to Matthew Vella; So long, Saddam! by Michael Falzon
Saturday1: Reform in stipends will pose burden on university students - MLP; Country in mourning after fatal traffic accident; US invests close to 50 million US dollars in new Malta embassy; Church working on internal reforms; Role of Malta University by J.G. Vassallo; Clean sweep of illegal billboards; Prosit Preti minn Daniela Attard Bezzina
Friday30: 140 illegal immigrants land at Cirkewwa; MLP leader to meet UK Prime Minister; Friday wisdom: Of MITTS and myths by Alfred Mifsud; Malta loses out again on EU environment funds; Prosit Preti minn Daniela Attard Bezzina
Thursday29: Il-kwistjoni ta’ l-immigrazzjoni klandestina fl-Ewropa: L-UE mhix taghmel bizzejjed – Gianfranco Fini

Saved from the sea - Stuck in limbo

On today's Guardian, Duncan Campbell discusses Malta's immigration controversy and writes that new arrivals are polarising Maltese public opinion and presenting "a moral and political dilemma for EU". From the Guardian:

From behind the barbed-wire fence that surrounds the detention camp, Bush - "yes, like George W" - Faoud describes how he came by the wounds on his neck and arm. "I was stopped by two criminal soldiers in Darfur," he says. "I was shot in the arm and in the leg and my neck was broken. I ran away."..

Bush Faoud is part of a fast-growing influx that has polarised opinion on Malta and presented the EU with a moral and political dilemma. As conflicts continue in Africa and the profitable trade in human trafficking soars, tens of thousands of people are prepared to risk their lives in perilous crossings of the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea to seek a new life in Europe. Libyan traffickers sell them frail open craft with room for around 30 people and tell them the journey to Italy is easy. Many drown.

Malta joined the EU only last year. As a member state it is obliged to deal with the asylum applications of the new arrivals, none of whom want to stay in Malta but all of whom are detained while their applications are processed. Malta received 116 asylum cases in 2001 but by last year that had multiplied to 1,227. In the past week alone a further 300 people arrived, rescued by the Maltese armed forces from a watery death. Many fail to gain refugee status so they hover in limbo, unable to return to their countries, unwanted by tiny, overcrowded Malta and by mainland European governments unsympathetic to African immigrants...

Malta presents requests to deal with illegal immigration; ANR protesters clash with Graffitti members

More from the Washington Times: Flood of refugees strains island nation - by Roland Flamini, United Press International

My Top Ten Maltese blog entries-September 2005

The latest BlogCarnival by MaltaGirl was posted just a couple of days ago. I have therefore decided to list blog entries only by bloggers who do not feature on the Carnival. Nearly all the Carnival participants feature regularly on this Top Ten and their latest carnival entries would all have a place on this page.

- in alphabetical order -

Antoine Cassar's Maqluba - Dawra maz-zokra & Translators

Bartleby, lo scrivano - Kurat Gybexi's employé administratif

Blobb (5) - Immanuel's reflections

Hgejjeg - Biljetti ta' Suicidi & Pink Floyd

Il-11 ta' Settembru - Patpitu on Allende

Is-soundtrack għall-ħarifa - Sandro's choice

Laugh at yourselves - Dmax perspectives

Mumenti f'Tangier - Erezija's Morocco diary

Those nice Dutch - More by Majistral on immigration

Xemx wisq sabiha - Guze Stagno 'loathes' writing

A special mention goes to the following blog entries:

Airshow highlights Day 1 - Follow the event with Caska
Let's Get Political, Political - David's observations
National Youth Parliament - Matthew Mizzi in session
September - Not Rupert Cefai's favourite
Viva La Talpa - Lena protests

On security

From today's Financial Times, Bush urges Malta to sign up to security pact. By Guy Dinmore in Washington:

When the president of the world's superpower meets the prime minister of the European Union's smallest member, what do they talk about? "Terrorism," says Malta's Lawrence Gonzi after a 40-minute meeting with President George W. Bush, joined by Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, and Stephen Hadley, national security advisor.

Malta, strategically placed on the southernmost flank of Europe and close to North Africa, is also the world's eighth largest ship registry. As a result, Mr Bush urged Mr Gonzi to sign up to the Proliferation Security Initiative, a US-led network of governments that agree to cooperate in the interdiction - by land, sea or air - of illicit materials, particularly related to weapons of mass destruction. Mr Gonzi told the FT he had no objection in principle to Malta joining PSI...

Mr Gonzi said Libya was also a major topic, stressing that he wanted to encourage the US in opening up the country following Muammar Gaddafi's decision in December 2003 to get rid of his weapons of mass destruction...Malta is now trying to position itself as a "platform" for US energy companies breaking into the Libyan market...

Breaking from tradition

Breaking from tradition, KSU president Anthony Fisher Camilleri delivers an English language speech to welcome fresh university students:

If you look left and right you are likely to find several persons of different nationalities sitting in your row. I am addressing you in English, which is a break from tradition, however in spirit of our institution’s new status as a regional university I felt it appropriate to deliver a speech which could be understood by all of you. On campus you will find an international culture which is hard to match. Those of you who were born here, be sure to mingle with and befriend students from the wealth of cultures you’ll be exposed to. To all you international students, make Maltese friends, learn some of our language and traditions and go home with great stories about the hospitality you are sure to find in our small Mediterranean island...

Why don’t we see students voicing themselves more vociferously about the issues concerning irregular immigration, about the goods or evils of globalization, wars around the world, social security reform or any of the other hundreds of issues that grip our nation daily? I am without doubt that we have strong, valid opinions on all of them, so why don’t we voice them? So lets voice those opinions and voice them strongly, lets show all detractors that students DO care about this country. If the country needs competitiveness, lets ask them to look here, at our ideas, our creativity and our energy and then dare anyone to say that Malta does not have the right ingredients to be competitive...

More KSU speeches from Camilleri's blog space

Aboutmalta newsletter

This month's aboutmalta newsletter marks the fifth anniversary of the popular online publication produced by Toni Sant and his team. The first monthly edition was published in October 2000 and it is now the longest standing Malta related web initiative of its kind. In the latest edition, Wired Temples blog is chosen as one of the top picks of the month. From Toni Sant's blog:

..From time to time we also publish special issues of the aboutmalta.com newsletter: Christmas, elections and other such life-altering moments in Malta. I'm quite pleased with the way subscription to the newsletter has swelled over the year. The aboutmalta.com newsletter is only delivered to people who opt-in to receive this monthly online publication.

If you're not subscribed to the aboutmalta.com newsletter, or if perhaps you've never even seen what it looks like, you may find it useful to receive a round-up of the previous month's news headlines from the MaltaMedia.com news service, highlights from aboutmalta.com's Today in Maltese History featuring birthdays, death anniversary and historical events, as well as a sampling of what's on in the Maltese Islands during the coming month...

Subscribe to the newsletter here

Partnership

The Associated Press in Washington takes a specific angle to the Maltese Prime Minister's visit to the United States. From The Jerusalem Post, 'Malta offers Palestinians desalination technology':

Malta's prime minister offered help Monday to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, saying his Mediterranean country's experience could be used to build a seaport and a plant to desalinate water for drinking. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said providing such basic facilities would serve as a way of reducing tensions in the region. He spoke to reporters after meeting at the White House with US President George W. Bush.

Gonzi said the meeting served to reaffirm the partnership that exists between Malta, the smallest state in the 25-nation European Union, and the United States. He said he had been in touch with the special coordinator for Gaza, former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, on Malta's proposal to help the Palestinians. Wolfensohn represents the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, the powers trying to solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem.

"Tensions in the region are unlikely to subside as long as a real, serious problem remains unaddressed - provision of a reliable water supply to a territory that has none," Gonzi said in a speech at the National Press Club. He said Malta once faced a serious water shortage and has developed technology to desalinate seawater that it is willing to share with the Palestinians through "an appropriate partnership."...

Guy Ritchie's Malta

From yesterday's Slash Film - blogging the reel world, Guy Ritchie 'wants to return to Malta':

Guy Ritchie still hopes that one day he will return to his dream project about the Great Siege of Malta of 1565, which is considered the last major battle of the Crusades. Looks like after The Revolver, Guy Ritchie lost his chance to regain his Swept Away lucky star by returning to the familiar territory of London outcasts. He says that he had a script finished several years ago, but put it on hold after “a load of other epics came out.” “So I thought I’d see how they did,” says Ritchie.

In 2001 Ritchie was sure that Swept Away was just a low-budget “filler” movie that was shot in Malta while preparing the The Siege of Malta (later the title was changed to Knights of Malta). The director even contemplated Anthony Hopkins and Robert De Niro as Christian and Ottoman Empire warriors respectively...

From EMPIRE magazine: Guy Ritchie talks siege of Malta

Manufacturing language markets

This report from Bloomberg discusses the European Day of Languages:

Dzordzas Busas and Bilas Geitsas are how Lithuanians write George Bush and Bill Gates. The Finns have just one word for he and she -- haen. When the Maltese want cheese and biscuits, they order Galletti and Gbejniet. Brussels spent this week celebrating the continent's more than 200 languages, marking the European Day of Languages on Sept. 26. At seminars and workshops across the Belgian capital, participants could dabble with Danish or learn that "O, jakie milutkie!'' is the appropriate expression when stroking a rabbit's fur in Poland.

As a Slovak proverb says: The number of languages you speak is the number of times you are human,'' Jan Figel of Slovakia, the European Union's commissioner for multilingualism, said in a statement. At the EU, languages drain cash. Its institutions spend 800 million euros ($960 million) a year translating documents. That money pays 1,650 linguists at the European Commission who make up the world's largest translation service, and for facilities for 732 lawmakers. The EU officially recognizes 20 languages, rising to 21 when Irish is added in 2007.

Some legislators say the language bureaucracy has run amok. They say officials from countries such as Malta, with a population of 400,000, should use English, French or German to save money and time in negotiations over EU laws and policies. "They have manufactured a market for bizarre combinations - - there was never a demand for Finnish into Maltese,'' Chris Heaton-Harris, a U.K. Conservative Party legislator in the European Parliament, said in a telephone interview. "It's berserk.'' ...

More from the Europa site

Wholeheartedly Maltese

Felix Seidel from Germany was in Malta for the Spring semester as a Socrates student doing communications at the University. He writes that "the deep feeling of being Maltese illuminates everything":

They do not like to be classified, although European holidaymakers have made it one of their favourite sports trying to put a stamp on the forehead of around 400,000 islanders. Since the beginning of May 2004 it seems that workers from England, housewives from Germany and students from Sweden would love to figure out whether the Maltese are already acting European or not. It should not be forgotten that trying to define themselves as Europeans overtaxes most foreign visitors. There is obviously just one fitting answer to the question “What is a typical European?” Typical European is in fact a great variety.

This variety can be found and seen in every corner of Malta. Just like the neighbouring island of Sicily to the north, it radiates fascination and a zest for life. A touch of Middle Eastern business activities probably comes from the south, from the opposite North Africa. And of course, the Brits have left an indelible impression of the British way of life: One drives on the left side like in the United Kingdom, but with the hand on the horn like in Italy, takes siesta like in Arabia and Spain and loves the sea like all the conquerors who for millenniums have shown a preference for strategically important rocky islands...

Road spies

From the Autoblog, 'Malta encourages you to spy on your neighbor':

Narcs, stool pigeons and tattle tales, this is the post for you. Malta has a program that allows drivers to text message reports of vehicles suspected of not meeting emissions standards to the government. Of the 15,000 or so reports received via SMS, over 200 were called in for further investigation, and many of them indeed failed emissions tests.

As invasive as this sounds, I kind of like the idea, actually, as long as people promise to pull over and do it. Remember the old “Call 1-800-44-TRASH” to report litterers? What if they were to also set up a 1-800-U-R-DRUNK number to text in drunk drivers? Of course, I get so pissy at people who cut me off or wait until the last possible second to acknowledge the fact that the lane they’re in exits that I’d probably text them in even though they’re perfectly sober...

A civic duty: SMS 5061 1899 by Martin Scicluna

Malta holiday reasons

LittleBoBeep writes on the Free The Chipmunks blog, the 'spiritual home of rants and randomness':

sunrise creeping through a 3000 year-old temple's doorway to mark Autumn solstice, a boat ride across blue waters into caves carved deep into the cliffs, watching the cats watch the fishermen hopefully yet still unconcerned, floating on your back in the middle of the sea bobbing with the waves at sunset, buses winding up mountains towards a medieval walled city keeping a lookout across the land, simple hours spent idly watching passers-by, getting caught up in past-midnight craziness in the party capital, shopping for tat but sadly not buying the Cats of Malta calendar....