Oh, Cyrus. How amusing, marelli.

So Cyrus Engerer thinks he's being amusing. He thinks his comment is hilarious.

Well, it would be. Really.
However, there's one tiny problem there. And this problem is equally hilarious. Really.

Should Cyrus Engerer be putting too fine a point there?

After all, we all do remember - very vividly, actually - his total U-turn.
Did he, back then, also imagine phoning The Times up and asking that they remove everything he had said before? (You know, the time during which he would lambast the Labour Party and anything they came up with!)

Yes, Cyrus. You're definitely amusing.

Of selfish UoM students!

You'd think people wouldn't find it difficult to follow the simplest rule that underpins civilisation. "Respect and you shall be respected!" - What is so difficult about that?

Well, our fellow erudite university students haven't yet come to terms with that... In fact, they resist it.

So here's one tip for you:




When you go to the library to study with your very own laptop, then please don't take up computer work-stations which you absolutely won't be using.


Although it hasn't yet hit you, others may actually want or, rather, NEED that very same computer.
It's not all that difficult: merely sit at a normal, regular desk which is not equipped with a PC.

And one other thing: why don't the library 'supervisors' tell them off? Could it be that they are too busy chatting on Facebook?

We're lacking that proverbial pinch of salt.

In a country where freedom of speech is present on paper yet interpreted in various ways, it is no shocker that the Nationalist Party is pushing for Rachel Tua's resignation over a silly photo.

Prime Minister Dr Gonzi depicted as Muammar Gaddafi - shared on Facebook by Rachel Tua, Labour's Equal Opportunities Officer and Labour Councillor.

Is the photo ridiculous? Certainly. Is it unprofessional for a politician to make fun of the Prime Minister in such a tacky way? Probably. Is it insensitive? Maybe. Those coming up with this brilliant idea seem to forget that it was their beloved ex-leader who was all chummy-chummy with the ex-Libyan leader. However, that's beside the point.

Why should Ms Tua resign? Why was Joe Grima made to resign for speaking his mind in light of what was said regarding Dom Mintoff's death? As ridiculous or blasphemous as it may be, everyone should, or rather, HAS the right to utter what they like. What some people fail to realise is that everyone has the same opportunity to speak their mind nowadays... One has two options when faced with something they don't like: ignore or retaliate. It's as simple as that.

This picture isn't saying that Dr Gonzi has a penchant for Asian prostitutes - that might be deemed libellous and may call for action. This picture is mere satire, and God knows we need to lighten up on this uptight little pebble. You see politicians being made fun of ad nauseum abroad. It's high time that the Maltese learnt to take this kind of thing with a pinch of salt.

Seriously.

Cancer is a serious matter. Let's treat it as such, please.

Prof. Stephen Brincat was an esteemed and highly-thought-of professor. There were several reasons why people had to look up to him with reverence and utmost respect. First and foremost, needless to say, was the astounding reputation that preceded him.

Unfortunately, the use of the 'was' is imperative here. 

As he is certainly well aware of, the Oncology department is perhaps one of the most delicate ones and deserves to be handled sensibly. For that very reason, his latest tantrums neither befit a person of his calibre, nor do they the department.

When he alleged - so nonchalantly, to worsen matters - that some have died due to sheer negligence ("chemo toxicity") on part of the supposed experts, he should have known that he would hurt people. Not everyone is an expert, as he knows very well. Who will explain to those still mourning that their mother, brother, sister, or cousin wasn't supposed to have left them so prematurely?

In other words, how will people be sure that their dead ones really received the best treatment possible? Are we to start doubting doctors when some patients do not make it through an operation?

No, we should not, because Prof. Brincat has clearly stated that those deaths occurred due to the fact that the Gozo Hospital does not provide its patients with doctors who are proficient enough in the field. He has not, though, come forward with cast-iron facts. Nothing is yet tangible; people will merely discuss these allegations at length. And you know the Maltese, these allegations, with the passing of time, will be thought of as veracious facts.

However, the same professor fails to realise that he was the Head of Department when this wrongdoing was taking place. If he is as earnest as he wants this nation to believe, he must tell us why it is only now that he is acquainting the people with the disastrous service they are apparently being given.

Couldn't he have said such things before? Early enough, perhaps, to avoid the alleged deaths? One would not want to think that this venerated professor is only doing this because his words on certain matters were not deemed decisive, as he was expecting them to be.

The Minister of Health said he has already started looking into the matter. In all honesty, for the sake of this professor and all the progress in the Oncology department, one hopes the outcome of this investigation will bear him out. It would be pitiable to think of him as capricious 

When Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...

It's ever so refreshing to find people who can actually sit pretty at a desk and write interesting blogposts for others to read. 

However, since Dr Franco Debono is neither able to sit pretty nor manages to write anything of substance, it would be better for him to get his act together and stop being such a nuisance. He should have realised by now (or must people spell things out?) that even Labour have lost interest in him

(On another note, one hopes he won't ever need to resort to writing in his life. Or at least nothing in English... deciphering that is an arduous task.)

Acting all hissy, throwing diva-like tantrums, making mistakes and outrageous faux pas, putting your team in distress... each and every one of these is a very serious matter in its own right, indeed. Having all of them converging in one individual is merely a lethal concoction. 

Unfortunately, that's exactly what we have in Dr Debono. 

He doesn't know what to do now that he's committed political suicide. He's reluctant to make any decisions because he's too afraid of facing the repercussions. And if you really think he's scared of Malta going through a rough time, well, then it shows you haven't yet figured out the man. 

He's shattered and devastated. Not because he won't be able to help the Maltese and these islands, no. He's just flustered because he's worked hard to finish that Law course to be on a par with the others (but that's another story altogether) and fought hard to infiltrate in what he believes is some sort of elite circle (politics), and is now too panicked because the wind is blowing harder and harder and that castle of cards is about to collapse. 

You can't really blame him. He's been brought up that way. And you can't teach an old dog new tricks, can you?

He's been banned from the PN. He brought that onto himself. It's useless of him to threaten to sue and bla and bla. It's all gibberish talk. 

It's time for him to walk out. He's lost at his own game and there shouldn't be any picking up the pieces now. 

You know what they say... you can't sit on that fence for too long, or you risk falling on the wrong side.

ps. For those of you who want to have a good laugh, here's the link to his notorious blog:
http://www.francodebono.com

How can the pot call the kettle black?

They say people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones! 

Facebook, as expected, is brimming with eulogies... Eulogies to Dom Mintoff, in which people have claimed ALL the Maltese should be grieving as he's the one that made Malta a decent country to live in. 

Well, that "ALL" is too big a word. Many would cherish not to take part in that 'all'. 

But hey, many just won't accept it. It's inconceivable, right? Well, that's all bollocks! It's politics. You've your take and others have theirs. Dead or alive, people will always say stuff about you.

Not being very much the norm here, some people are simply appalled by Daphne's latest blogpost. 

She's happy the man died. She said he was a bastard. Now quite apart from the fact that in reality she speaks on behalf of many; Quite apart from the fact that she's the guts to say what others have silently admitted deep down... Well, that's all besides the point. It's her blog. 

Everybody, surely - OK, maybe Jason Micallef didn't know since he isn't yet aware of the fact that she's a journalist - knew Daphne would rejoice. 

Why did people have to rush to see what she would say? They are now in a bit of a funny hissy mood, throwing tantrums all over the place... They say it's crass to speak like that. They have totally forgotten their hero is dead; it's all about what Daphne said now. 

Meanwhile, however, in their comments they add their wishes, such as the following:

Call her 'hateful', that's all right. But you shouldn't be doing the same thing, should you? It sort of beats
the purpose...

As a certain Adrian Cachia puts it: "They dragged Gaddafi in the streets, they hanged Mussolini. They rejoiced when Saddam died. They rejoiced when Tito died... It's normal for people to rejoice when someone they hate dies. What is new?"

Xi dwejjaq ta' nies, marelli

There isn't much need for a comment, is there?
Remember when we wrote this? ...well, add another one to those talking gibberish.

If that's what friends are for ...

However hard we try not to fall in that trap, we all, some day or another, make the wrong decision when faced with certain burdens. Infallibility, like many other things, has not yet been mastered.

Deny it not; we all make mistakes. Some may be smaller than others, but they're mistakes nonetheless. 

Some people are prone to making more mistakes than others, which is why when they make the umpteenth one we'd still be there, ready to deal with the repercussions, to help out and, at times, to forgive. 

Certain mistakes, however, cannot be forgotten or put on the side. With the privilege of hindsight, one must look back and say "how on earth didn't I see that coming?"

People might have tried warning you. Particular situations should have served as eye-openers. Yet, sometimes you've just got to put your finger in the fire to really comprehend the fact that it hurts. 

To help us when all seems gloomy and to share the good moments in life with, we pick some friends along the way. Needless to say, we all try to be as picky, finicky and choosy as possible so as to sort out the sheep from the goat. Some are more lenient, whereas others go to great lengths to avoid having undesirable ones around them.

Once your selection process is over, you will have your group of friends. Indeed, you will have some things in common, and many more upon which you will have to discuss. Bicker perhaps. That's normal, isn't it? It makes one's friendship grow stronger and healthier. 

That's if you have the right sort of friends. It may well happen that you don't. If this is the case, you will hardly realise - and once you do, it'll be a tad too late. 

You will all have friends - or at least you will have had friends at some point in time. You will therefore know how these friendships work. Among friends you will say what you really think; you will vent; you will say things about other people... and so on, and so forth. It's a question of trust after all. 

There comes a day, then, when you'd be in an uncomfortable situation. Your friends might want to do something which doesn't really tickle your fancy, so you decide to give it a miss. Coincidentally, another group of friends that usually do their utmost to avoid mingling with you, would also be interested in doing the same thing your friends are up to, so your friends decide to join them. 

You won't mind, for at least you know that your friends managed to do what they wanted to do nevertheless. Then you realise, however, that those same friends are mingling a bit too much with those people that never wanted to blend with your circle of friends. 

Your other friends and you would be quite taken aback, especially because those friends would have always mocked the other group. Your circle of friends and that of the others are wholly different in practically anything you did. 

Then some of these friends simply decide to start going out with the other group. These will come across as people with a lack of principles and values; hypocrites who are ready to backstab you if for once you say no to them. So much so that the new group they found solace in won't even bother trusting them much - and nor will the friends of their friends. 

Some others will pick a girlfriend (with particular pasts, to worsen mattes) from that group and, well, these friends would have no other choice but to abandon their original friends and join the others, even if deep down they know they don't belong. These will play the pious; they will keep a low profile, but will eventually be so absorbed by their girlfriends that will no longer be able to see the woods for the trees and will have to attack their original flock because, well, they wouldn't exactly know why. 

Then there would be the last category of your friends. They decide to stay on your side because they think your group is said to have certain standards, and well, they want everyone else to think that they too have standards. Secretly, however, they would have also joined the other group of friends. These are the worst ones. They would be totally hooked and decide to help the other group look better in the eyes of the people, just in case they will have to make that final step: join the other group officially.

With such friends around you, you surely don't need to have any enemies to hinder your progress. 

Much to the PN's dismay, these sort of friends have plagued the party's quarters. Unfortunately, eradicating such a disease always proved to be an arduous task in past times. Banning the "the fiere" (three beasts) - Dante's words, not ours, lest the silly ones take it personally, was surely the first step. 

In fact, you can't help laughing when you see Cyrus Engerer, for example, ridiculing the PN on Facebook - often in Maltese, of course, lest the people he has to appeal to now think he's snobbish. It'w equally funny to see Robert Musumeci sticking up for Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. Oh well, they do say that birds of a feather... Franco Debono, of course, takes the biscuit - he's so openly shallow that he's become boring. Much like the Mugliet brat. 

Yes, we all make mistakes. The PN's was that of letting loonies contesting the election on their ticket. Looney Tunes would have been more appropriate. 

You are what you're made to wear, yeah?

Much is being (has been, perhaps, because in Malta something is mentioned then it duly disappears) said regarding changes in school uniforms. It's a story that never dies: who gets the supplying contract, the ridiculous expense, what accessories must be worn; the list goes on and on. It's an extra burden on frustrated parents and a very stressful inconvenience for children who have to report back to their parents every time the headmistress reprimands them about their socks being a shade too dark or their hair ribbon being too thick. We're not joking - our school days are not that far behind us and we remember these sad incidents very vividly.

What we can't really understand is not quite why they are thinking of opting for "a generic uniform" - that is really beside our point. What we hated back then and still can't get our heads round is: why do children have to wear uniforms? OK, we know the cliché reasons given by everyone - but to be quite honest, we think they're lame.

Reason 1: It is convenient for children not to have to worry about what to wear for school in the morning. Yeah, that's exactly what's stressing children out nowadays - choosing outfits everyday. And before you say that it's extra work for the parents - allowing children to select their daily outfits may strengthen their decision-making skills and give them a sense of responsibility. Sometimes parents, especially Maltese ones, tend to be over-bearing. Our advice to these parents (lest we're accused of complaining without suggesting anything) would be: Back Off! (Well, if you then see that the outfit they have picked is not adequate, you could easily teach them a thing or two about what's good and not - or is that too much of a burden, too?)

Reason 2: Uniforms protect the unwealthy who can't afford 'cool' or designer clothing. Firstly, 'cool' clothing can be found at a very cheap price nowadays - no, not necessarily at the market (even though we hear that it's terribly improved, and technically, let's-buy-cool-clothes-for-a-song has become the latest trend!). Secondly, if it were to arise, this problem wouldn't surface before secondary school - at which age, if used to wearing regular clothes to school, adolescents will have learnt that clothing isn't quite everything - yes, the earlier you get accustomed to something the earlier you start to disregard it. Moreover, clothes is certainly not the first thing that sets the 'wealthy' and the 'not-so-wealthy' apart. Smartphones, tablets, handheld 'video' games... the list goes on and on. You get our drift.
                    Besides, this kind of reasoning that unfortunately plagues the island holds no water, really. In reality the same people that you dearly want to protect in schools (that's the pretext many use anyway) will eventually also see each other outside that very safe environment. Yes, they will meet outside - and there too can be discriminated against... but then, you know, the next day at school all of that will be forgotten. That wouldn't happen, though, if such a fuss wasn't made about clothing.

Reason 3: Wearing a uniform makes children more disciplined. We hate to burst your bubble, but forcing children and teens into a uniform won't make them more disciplined. That uniform isn't helping much against, say, bullying, is it? And that's merely to give an example. The reasons are two-fold:

A. It is education (and parenthood) that will instill a sense of discipline in children. Also, enforcing a dress-code may nudge children into being disciplined while they maintain their individuality. Forcing them into a uniform will only make them resent any type of conformity, which leads us to our next point;

B: Chances are that the more children are forced into doing things, the more rebellious they will turn out to be. Cases in point are Maltese children. Ever noticed their euphoric use of the trashiest clothes they can get their hands on when they get the chance to wear what they want? How about the Christmas parties that schools hold ever year? Or the so-called "Casual days"? You will probably have noticed that on such days children try to impress one another (usually with their parents' blessing), hence their dressing up to the nines for a 'casual' day. This, albeit you may laugh at it, is indicative of what will happen in the years to come. If you still think this is baloney, then we suggest you pay Paceville a visit. The more you ban something, the more they'll want it; crave it. The sooner people realise this, the better. Really.

So please, save everyone the hassle and do away with these awful uniforms. They're not helping in any way and making uniforms 'generic' across the board might - (we don't think so) - solve a couple of problems but will give rise to an array of new ones, too.

Better put some glasses on...

Having a quick coffee at Café Cuba turned out to be quite a nightmare. And it's not even because of the not-so-good coffee they served us.

No, a driver decided to park his truck right in front of the café, next to the patrons, to unload (so far so good - they haven't got any other way to do it.) However, the stupid driver (for want of a better word) deemed fit to leave the truck's engine on - and this wasn't exactly the most eco-friendly truck, really.

As a consequence, everyone enjoying their drinks had to breathe and take in all those lovely fumes - for more than 10 minutes, please note.

Oh well, thank goodness they have an eye for detail...

How irritatingly inconsiderate! It can't be that difficult to switch the engine off for some minutes, or can it?