We live in a world that is made of spin, built on spin, and believes in spin.

Spin is creating a make-believe world and sooner or later most are inveigled in it, it surrounds us, takes over our legs and takes us where we do not want to go.

We, the media, are willing or unwilling participants in this ghastly game because many have personal or sectoral interests in continuing the game.

The people thus find themselves in this hall of mirrors where everyone apes everyone else and none look beyond the mirrors to see the real world outside the hall of mirrors.

There is only one thing that stands up to the power of spin: facts, crude, brute facts. On facts, rock solid facts hardened by years that break the waves of spin.

Here is one example: Commissioner-designate Karmenu Vella had to reply in writing to questions submitted in writing by MEPS before tomorrow's EP session.

In reply to a rather anodyne question, he decided to spin a little bit and absolutely off his own bat volunteered the information that he had voted for accession in 2003.

All Malta had a rollicking good time rolling about in laughter yesterday.

All it took was just a one second search on Google and this turned up.

From The Times of 7 February 2003

Hoteliers have a right to favour EU accession - Vella

 

By Jesmond Bonello

 

The Labour Party's spokesman on tourism, Karmenu Vella has denied any conflict of interest between his political role and his involvement as chairman of one of the island's leading hotel chains.

A survey commissioned by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association among members has found that 100 per cent of the hoteliers in the five-star category are in favour of EU membership.

Given Mr Vella's involvement, in a private capacity, in the five-star hotel sector, his apparent conflict of interest was raised at a business breakfast addressed by Labour leader Alfred Sant yesterday. Dr Sant replied that the question should be directed to Mr Vella himself.

On the political front, Mr Vella said he believed EU membership was not the best option for Malta and that tourism will be negatively affected.

Asked for his position as a senior post-holder in the hotel industry, Mr Vella said: "For the private sector, membership has positive and negative effects."

Did he believe there were more negative or positive implications for hoteliers through EU membership? There were more negative than positive implications, he answered.

"What suits hoteliers is not necessarily in the interest of the country, workers or the tourism sector in general. For instance, a hotelier might argue it is in his interest to recruit 10 foreigners from any member state. But is this in the interest of the economy or workers?

"I also want to point out that I did not reply to the questionnaire sent by MHRA. The questionnaire was sent to the individual hotels and it was up to the general manager to reply. Every executive in such a position has a right to his opinion and if the executive felt that EU membership benefits his hotel and he replied accordingly he did the right thing."

So far as the tourism sector in general goes, Mr Vella believes EU membership will seriously harm competitiveness.

"It is a fact that upon accession we will no longer be in a position to give certain incentives to certain markets or sectors, food prices will go up because of imports from the EU and harmonisation of VAT will increase taxation."

Mr Vella said he believed the MHRA should have organised a more balanced and credible conference.

"It would have made more sense had they first held a balanced conference before holding the survey. Unfortunately, the MHRA conference was biased in the sense that there was no exposure to the Labour Party's partnership option."

Mr Vella added that all the presentations and reports discussed in the conference only took into consideration the membership and status quo options completely ignoring the partnership alternative.

Asked why he refused to participate in the MHRA conference, Mr Vella said: "The MHRA conference was opened by the president followed by the presentation of three reports and a further exposure of three other presentations.

"I was invited to take part afterwards in order to reply to questions in a panel made up of Tourism Minister Michael Refalo, Foreign Minister Joe Borg, chief negotiator Richard Cachia Caruana and EU ambassador Ronald Gallimore. There would have been no time whatsoever to go into explaining our partnership option and that is why I felt I should not participate. If I had the time to explain our proposals in detail I would have accepted the invitation.

"My non-participation was not intended to be a sign of any disrespect to my colleagues at the MHRA. They are all my friends and I respect them but I thought it was almost insulting to invite me to reply to questions for a few minutes without having the time to explain our proposals, especially since the conference was totally one-sided."

Mr Vella said he respected the decision taken by hoteliers in the survey in favour of EU membership: "I recognise they have every right to be in favour of membership."

Facts, facts, facts, dear reader.

On a rather different subject, there is a link http://www.corriere.it/cronache/speciali/2014/la-scelta-di-catia/#.VCWCcnYQg3l.facebook

to an incredible video on Corriere della Sera about Catia's choice. Catia is the female commander of one of the Italian naval ships in the Mare Nostrum exercise.

Wonderfully shot, it shows the Navy saving people, asylum seekers swimming in the open sea surrounded by dying children and corpses.

It says it's a fiction, but it looks awfully like the truth of what happens just beyond our horizon.

The man at the end crying that he can't swim would melt rocks.

 

[email protected]