Stop them!
Common scene that irritates me beyond belief; you might have experienced it. It’s eight in the morning, the heat is already unbearable and you are on your way to work, your car has no cooling system, or if it does it’s too expensive to run, as it drains your tank and your pocket. Suddenly, a huge traffic jam. You move at a snail’s pace, sweating profusely. You see cones in the middle of the road, and then a van and workers cleaning the central strip, or watering plants. A traffic warden is there too, wasting his time, pretending he’s directing traffic. Directing traffic where?! You would be dying to grab that hose pipe and give yourself a good soak while quenching your thirst, but you are already late for work and too angry! Can’t this work be done late at night or at least late in the evening when roads are not so choc-a-bloc with cars? People complain as much as I do, and rightly so, now can someone please listen and stop this inconvenient work practice. I dread going into that car tomorrow morning, and to make matters worse it’s a Monday. A nuisance, unfortunately we have too many of them!
Handout
A letter that Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro wrote to Labour Secretary General Jason Micallef ended up in the wrong hands and was made public. Its content cannot be taken lightly, as much as its authoress, a very respectable politician and a heavyweight in her electoral district. In her letter, she accused Micallef of keeping members of the executive committee “sajmin mill-verita”. In simple English she accused him of being economical with the truth. It was reported that Ms Coleiro sent him a copy of a handout asking him to distribute it to the executive members. Mr Micallef, it is alleged, simply interpreted Coleiro’s handout instead. “When members of the second highest institution in the party (Labour) are asked to vote on an incorrect impression and interpretation they remain sajmin mill-verita and at the same time genuine ends are censured,” Coleiro told Micallef. Any further comment would be superfluous.
Mud
The parliamentary privilege granted to our Members of Parliament is being abused shamelessly. It should either be checked or done away with completely. Some MPs take advantage of this privilege granted to them to say what they like, accuse and insinuate what they feel like knowing that no action will be taken against them. They don’t have the guts to utter their accusations outside the House, as they would be instantly charged with slander. Action should be taken to stop this abuse, being accountable for what you say is not a mere buzz word, but for certain MPs it is; they find parliamentary privilege very convenient.
Sometimes they do have the guts to repeat their insinuations outside the House, even if some years later they admit they had no clue what they were talking about. Who cares? Throw mud at your opponent, accuse him/her of whatever comes to your mind, make his/ her and family life miserable – don’t worry it might win you votes. Minister Michael Frendo was one victim who had to endure this. Thank God he’s back and making a huge success of it.
Papal change
When on 28 June Labour leader Alfred Sant, together with MPs Roderick Galdes and Joe Sammut went to the Tal-Papa area in Birzebbuga, he condemned the present administration because it was about to destroy rural land with the inclusion of the area in the development zone. A few days later, Roderick Galdes together with Charles Buhagiar voted to approve six maps, including the one in Birzebbuga. Later they tried to amend the minutes of that sitting. It also transpired that under Sant’s premiership, a board he himself commissioned had earmarked the Tal-Papa area for development. With Labour MPs condemning the government for destroying rural land and who then vote in favour, as the minutes show they have done, will the Labour leader condemn the MPs in question? I highly doubt that he will! The Labour Opposition through its MPs also continued to press for the inclusion of more land for development, including sites in Siggiewi, Kalkara, Xghajra, Msida, Mellieha, Salina, Zebbug, Mtarfa and Zebbiegh. Only a few days later Alfred Sant declared that he would be giving his MPs a free vote. Surprisingly, this time round they unanimously voted against. Now how’s that for consistency!
Corpses Mr Gol, corpses!
At the end of his five-year term, Ehud Gol, Israeli Ambassador to Malta, gave an interview to a local newspaper in which he backed his country’s action against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The interview was published on 17 July; since then almost three weeks have passed and more and more civilians have been killed. Hezbollah kidnapped Israeli soldiers in Gaza and killed seven, which prompted Israel to go to Lebanon to hunt down the terrorists. The retaliation was, whatever Mr Gol says, disproportionate and exaggerated. They launched air strikes against Beirut airport and heavy military action followed. There have been no winners, and there will be none, except disrupted families and the corpses of dead and innocent people.
Undermining Hezbollah power is desirable, not least for the world’s security, but there is a way and another way. Showing your might and killing hundreds of civilians in the process is definitely not the way to do it. Mr Gol insisted that Israel was simply defending itself, arguing that they don’t have to give reports to the international community for all they (Israel) are doing. Well, nothing much to report Mr Gol except corpses and more corpses! Locally, President Emeritus Guido de Marco and Labour International Secretary Joe Mifsud have clearly condemned this war, hope more will follow. This is not a matter of taking sides; this is a matter of condemning the death of innocent people. This is no defence; this is a war and a big show of force by one nation against another. Pity that the EU and the international community, especially the US are treating this with kid gloves. Less words and more concrete action is needed. In the meantime we shall hear of a higher death toll. Defence, my foot!