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Another mask, anyone?

2012-01-06T05:39:00.000-08:00

POEM

Our precious soil, betrays our innocence

How many more
Must perish
Souring over our barren land?
Undeserving of so precious
Blood
We are!
Of so graceful
Creatures

...they adorn our skies
and cry their last desperate
sorrows
for the bigotry of its inhabitants
and their bizarre gods
of gore and limestone
and euro
orgies
of smoky, petrified
incense
as they kneel in front
of HE
whom they claim
to adore.

How many more
Must perish
Souring over our barren land?

As the exchequer squambles over another excuse
With his peers
He jokes over how great he is
In his infinite wisdom
And his children look for
A morrow where feathers are
Nothing but Exhibits in classroom books
Hailing from days gone by...

And deep within each soil granule
So miniscule, insignificant
Lies the blood of them...

The souring angels,
Up above...

Ray de Bono
9th March 2010

He/she who wants to understand, let him/her understand...

..................................................................
Written upon reading: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100309/local/birdlife-urges-european-commission-to-take-action-against-malta

Image taken from: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42866000/jpg/_42866531_turtledove_416.jpg&imgrefurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6609247.stm&usg=__ay87BbYOBiPHTsB6Ws2Et0F7ShQ=&h=300&w=416&sz=35&hl=en&start=5&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=PlydmLPpOAcpKM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddead%2Bbird%2Bmalta%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4ADFA_enMT361MT361%26tbs%3Disch:1

Elusive, lost Love

2012-01-06T05:36:00.000-08:00

Play this music whilst reading it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HCvyJvqpqY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fpages%2FAttard%2DMalta%2FDmaxtv%2F14281068665%3Fref%3Ds&feature=player_embedded

I am happy
Thrilled
So full of life
Yet inept
And so bizarre in my fetish muse
That dictates my testosterone driven vibe
In this chess game
In the dark…

She left
Killed the warmth
That engulfed my abyss
Setting alight Wrath so hellish
…at the Maker’s standalone whims

My Useless howling
In the wind…

Tear drenched eyes

Alone, yet in a crowd of pseudo-passion
Like flashes
In the dark

Not even a twinkling candle

Just a puff of light
Micro seconds
Quick-and-go..

Chilled heart
In gay hilarity
White wine thrash
Dripping

Lousy mornings…
How many more
Yet to come?

Pathetic pretentious
Scribbles of mine…

Ray de Bono
Monday, July 20, 2009

Ode to Hypocrisy

2012-01-06T05:19:00.000-08:00

I stood there and gasped
Thinking
I know
That what I hear
See and feel
Is anything but factual
Words targeted solely
at pleasing me
for peace sake

I stared at the mirror

And heard the clatter and wind
The chiming of church bells
And the howling swears
of idle street hawkers
selling veggies and kitchen ware
with their pseudo- lucky charms
And blessed virgins adorning their vans...

But I see no man around
No woman...

I say

I am alone

All is good

All is fine

And the smoky sky
And putrefying air
Is fine
As long as we both
Say so

All is fine.

Ray de Bono
Thursday, 04 March 2010

Dmax (Malta) Strengthens its Online Services with Mobile Solutions

2011-05-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

Dmax, the local creative IT solutions and branding company has just celebrated its 5th anniversary. It is the brainchild of Ray de Bono, the group’s chief executive officer, who saw the potential of combining creativity with ICT after working in Germany and partnering with Uwe Schönfeld, a German with a strong background in IT and finance.

This partnership led to the launch of Dmax in January 2006, which since then has focused on local and international IT and branding solutions that have a strong element of creativity.

The company develops dynamic web content (in specialised markets like insurance, banking, finance, health services, retail and ICT) ready for accessibility via multiple platforms, not just PCs. It is also experienced in planning and managing social media and search engine optimisation (SEO) services.

“Sixty per cent of what we produce is already exported,” Mr de Bono explained to i-Tech from his office, while showing off one of their latest creations, a glossy business magazine focused on West Africa, which Dmax publishes in London every month.

“Contrary to the misconceived popular perception, it is web content (dynamic data like text, or images), not its design that carries the greatest impetus on SEO.”

One of the most interesting solutions delivered by Dmax in these last years is a state-of-the-art reverse-logistics IT solution developed for a leading German recycling company. This system tracks down the origin of every component of each item that is recycled, and this meant the company had to study the German environmental laws, which are some of the most stringent in the EU. On the branding side, the Dmax portfolio includes monthly international magazines, creation of annual reports and publishing services. The company is also branching into new spheres of branding and has already been involved in numerous identity creation projects for German, Maltese and UK business hailing from healthcare, scientific, ICT and the banking and finance sectors.

The local portfolio includes the branding and launch of Microsoft Windows XP and Vista in Malta and the myPotential scheme for education in ICT. International accounts include equity firm Spuetz AG, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, and Aon, among others.

However Mr de Bono can draw important comparisons between foreign and local contractors. “In Malta, companies want to pay peanuts for top-rated work. We can’t keep on charging third-world rates here,” he lamented.

Dmax has a staff of eight people but relies on outsourcing, which involves another 25 IT specialist developers.

“We took the strategic decision to outsource because IT skills are always in evolution with the need of constant and expensive, re-training which eats into the budget which could otherwise be dedicated to research and development,” said Mr de Bono.

Uwe Schönfeld, who holds a 40 per cent shareholding in the company, is quite happy with the successful partnership that married his skills with those of Mr de Bono.

“Dmax already had its fair share of IT exposure, mainly through web development and GUI (graphical user interface) design. You can say that ICT solutions constitute the fulcrum of our company services nowadays. The fact that Dmax originated from a branding services background added a creative touch to our services approach. You can say we married my knowledge and experience to Ray de Bono’s drive, and the end result is a selection of solutions that are well packaged, internationally tested and commercially successful.”

Mr Schönfeld makes a very interesting assessment of the Maltese potential for creativity but expresses concerns about the educational system.

“The interesting combination of Latin/Mediterranean altogether with the strong British influences have brought to the Maltese what I would call ‘a disciplined’ creativity, and by discipline I don’t mean restrained but ‘organised’ and ‘structured’. You have strong entrepreneurial spirit and that makes doing business here easier. As a frequent visitor to Malta over the past 10 years I noted a marked shift in style not only on printed but also online media. This is very positive, and places Malta at the centre of European creativity potentials.

“My only concern as an employer in the field is that the local education system may not yet be completely geared up towards meeting industry requirements. More often than not, potential recruits are way too detached from what the industry expects in terms of training and often lack knowledge of even the most basic marketing or branding notions, whilst their portfolio of school design or art projects are somewhat poor and detached from any business link. I am not sure if this is their fault as students or the fault of their instructors.”

Indeed, in some instances our firm has had to employ foreigners as no Maltese people with the requested skills and experience were available.

Dmax is aware that the present and future of IT is very much based on mobile and wireless communication, something which Mr Schönfeld is also passionate about.

“We have a host of online solutions already, including intelligent e-mail marketing software geared to reach people via email on PC, Macs and various smart phone platforms.

“Leading companies such as FinanceMalta, RMF, MIB, Fino, Coca-Cola, Audi, Palazzo Parisio, Thomas Smith, Sprakasse Bank and Miller Group, among others, are already using Dmaxepaper.com - our corporate email marketing solution.

“This software allows businesses to conduct e-marketing campaigns themselves with detailed statistical insight on each and every one of their recipients’ readership, without the need to spend any money on 3rd part costs. This is proving to be an innovative and cost-effective solution to companies seeking to invest more of their marketing budgets through the new world of smarter, audited online media, particularly email.”

“Dmax can also provide interactive apps for Android, Windows phones, iPhones and BlackBerry platforms, and together with our partners we are continuously researching ways in how to combine our solutions online, using social media and broader web applications.”

While the future looks bright for the small Maltese company, its CEO wants everybody to remain with their feet on the ground.

“We don’t want to grow fast but we want to grow strong,” concluded Mr de Bono.

www.dmax.tv

.........................................................
Article originally published on the Times of Malta, Thursday, March 10, 2011 , by
Martin Debattista (see: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110310/technology/when-ict-meets-creativity.354070 )

Dmax opens London Office, Launches ERP Services in Malta

2010-11-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

Dmax, together with its new international partners hailing from the communications and branding industry, has recently set up a new business arm in UK with an office in London.

Offering the whole range of IT and Corporate Branding support as Dmax Malta, Dmax & Associates UK Ltd will be managing international projects currently underway. After a number of years experience in the German market, Dmax is now also offering support on INFOR ERP LN (formerly known as BaaN). Dmax, together with its affiliate Partner company Inobis Consulting Group Ltd, was project leader of the BaaN IV implementation project at Vfw AG in1998.

This year, Dmax was appointed project leader for the migration project to INFOR ERP LN F6, the latest and state-of-the-art. ERP system for companies within the production or logistics business.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), like INFOR ERP LN, is an integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. Built on a centralised database and normally utilising a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise-wide system environment.

Speaking to The Times, Uwe Schoenfeld, Dmax IT Strategy Director, said "After offering ERP consulting services to German and UK clients for more than 15 years, I am proud to work with the highly professional team of Dmax IT experts to introduce that service to the Maltese Market."INFOR is a vendor of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software owned by Infor Global Solutions.

INFOR ERP LN is also the name of the ERP product created by this company. Dmax employs experts with 12 to 20 years of experience in INFOR and BaaN, and offers very competitive rates.

Dmax, founded and run by Ray de Bono (CEO) in 2006, is a branding and IT solutions firms offering Bespoke IT solutions, advanced web-development/GUI and identity creation & maintenance services. Dmax is mostly active in Germany and the UK, managing blue chip projects including the branding of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) based in London, as well as the entire IT strategy and development for reverse-logistics service provider, Vfw GmbH, one of the largest companies in its field based in Germany, amongst others.

Picture: Article show here was published on the 17th of November, 2010 on MaltaTodays' business section.

Smart Phones set to take over ‘conventional’ Mobile Phones during this decade even in Malta

2010-09-11T04:30:00.000-07:00

Article by Ray de bono, CEO - Dmax

Marketers the world over are always on the lookout for intelligent marketing media that give them the edge over competition. The holy grail of marketing is a cost-effective medium offering high ROI, real-time statistical data and the capacity to narrow down or broaden reach of target audience at will. The way technology is evolving right now, the much desired solution may very much literally already be in our own hands…

According to a Deloitte Report of Technologies published in 2010, the Growth in demand for smart phones - devices boasting powerful processors, abundant memories, large screens and open operating systems - has outpaced the rest of the mobile phone market for several years.Already in 2008, smart phone sales increased by almost 35 percent, while the market as a whole grew 10 percent. By year-end, smart phones had taken 13 percent of the total handset market.

Operators need data traffic growth to offset declining margins for voice and SMS services. They should work with handset makers to ensure that feature phones do not compromise data usage.Smartphones will make up over half of Asian mobile phone sales by 2015, with 477 million units likely to be sold, according to an industry report published online.Consultancy Frost and Sullivan (2010) said smartphones would account for 54 per cent of the Asia-Pacific mobile market in five years, up sharply from five per cent in 2009.

What about here in Malta? Vodafone figures published in August 2010 indicate that BlackBerry devices outpace sales of any other smartphone (mainly iphones and other brands like Samsung) on the Maltese market. Vodafone launched the BlackBerry service in Malta two years ago. This company currently offers the BlackBerry Curve 8520 handset for EUR 270 without contract. The Curve 8520 is also available free of charge in combination with a two-year contract for a Vodafone tariff plan (source: DMEUROPE via COMTEX News Network).

What does this trend mean to ethical marketers? Smartphones offer a new frontier for ethical marketing companies to channel advertising via email, as an alternative to the flat, costly and much-hated SMS promos. Smartphones allow emails to be sent, received and stored, parallel with one’s home or office service. Many software applications, traditionally accessible only via conventional PC’s, such as Word, Excel, including major media players are available on most smartphones, making file sharing and management easy and more versatile than ever before.

Contrary to popular belief, smartphones are not the sole dominion of business people. Students and users from all walks of life, trades and professions are increasingly opting for smartphones (often preferred over laptops) since these handy gadgets allow them to access the internet from anywhere, giving them freedom and helping make their life easier. Now imagine being able to send emails to people on your contact list and that they can receive your mail wherever they are. Imagine you can send branded emails, emails with design, images and even video.

Marketers all over the world are discovering that email is an inexpensive, personalized, effective, traceable medium for PR and publicity, seriously rivaling traditional media like TV, print media and radio.

The question is how best to maximize this medium. Will you use your email account as the sender? But how can you efficiently send 1,000 emails or more via Outlook or Gmail? How can you do this in a personalized way (Dear John, Jack, Jill...) without wasting a whole morning? A solution is needed that allows one to create, send and TRACK emails.

Such solutions providing email marketing exist. Dmaxepaper.com is a leading, smart email marketing option available so far in English and German. Dmaxepaper, with its operations based in Malta (EU) offers advanced real-time statistics, compatibility with leading email clients (including Blackberry and iphone) and inbuilt anti-spam modules. Dmaxepaper.com is used by clients such Audi, VW and Coca Cola, amongst others. Read more here: http://www.dmaxepaper.com/product%20evaluation.html

Welcome to 'permission marketing'…

This new marketing medium comes with it set of rules, some of which are also sanctioned by law in the EU and US. These laws are set to protect us all from people who abuse of this medium. Nobody enjoys having his inbox full of spam. So marketers, for instance, must ensure recipients authorize the sender to send them the email marketing (being it a text only or image rich newsletter).

This brave new world is called ‘permission marketing’, and this new ‘channel’ requires that such campaigns must include an opt out, which must be easy to execute, therefore safeguarding one’s right to unsubscribe at any point in time from receiving unwanted emails. As with all media one has to be courteous and exercise all care to avoid bothering contacts with too many emails, for instance. Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permission_marketing Read more about email marketing here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_marketing

Situations Vacant

2010-04-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

Join our team selling the leading e-mail marketing software around...

We are looking for smart, IT conversant sales associates to join our team promoting and selling Dmax e-paper (www.dmaxepaper.com) which today is already a leader in terms of email sales + marketing syste.

On-the-job training on system will be provided. Package will consist of salary plus attractive commission commensurate with experience will be offered to the chosen candidate(s).

Are you interested?
Send Application addressed to CEO
by email to ceo@dmax.tv

Closing date: 10th May 2010

Confidentiality Guaranteed.

The Product (in-a-nut-shell)

Dmax™ e-paper is a state-of-the-art e-mail marketing system with which Dmax™ continues to expand its innovative range of web solutions.

Market studies show that e-mail marketing gives a return on investment immediately both in terms of exposure as well as sales.

HTML e-mails have consistently outperformed plain text, garnering more opens, more clicks and better response rates.

Through the use of Dmax™ e-paper businesses can take advantage of e-mail to communicate with their customers (or contact lists on Outlook) on a regular basis.

Fully Content Managed, like using Microsoft Word

A user-friendly Word-like editor is used to further customise templates by including product images and marketing text at will. Moreover Dmax™ e-paper gives a preview of how newsletters will appear in each of the major e-mail systems.

Unrivalled market intelligence

The use of the e-mail platform is one of the cheapest and most measurable forms of marketing.

Easy-to-follow graphical reports show essential information such as the number of newsletters that have been read by recipients and what links they have clicked on. This helps make e-mail campaign completely measurable.

Fopr more information visit www.dmaxepaper.com

Dmax is Expanding in Germany

2010-04-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

Jens Thomas,IT Director VfW GmbH, Germany speaks to our blog editor about his company's experience with Dmax.

Where does Vfw GmbH rank right now in your sector and where do you see your company in five years time?

Vfw started to offer a solution for German health care market in the middle of the 90's and established itself as a clear market leader in this sector. In 2008 the German government introduced the 5th Novella of the packaging law. As a result of this law, Vfw started launched a new service product called Vfw REPACK DS on 1st January 2009. At the moment there are 9 service providers in the market. Vfw won so far from this ex monopolized market a share of about 3 to 4 % nationwide and it is our target to get 10% of the whole packaging market in the near future.

VfW operates in the green industry sector, contributing to a better environment by recycling otherwise wasted resources. How has IT helped your operations apart from the traditional administrative resources it provides, in terms of work efficiency, cost cutting, management and increase in output?

Vfw, as the originator of a take-back system in Germany, organizes the recycling from nearly 40,000 tons of paper, 15,000 tons of plastics and about 20,000 tons of glass in 2007. The base and fulcrum of the organization of no less than 500 suppliers covering transportation, assorting and recycling is our IT System. In addition to the organization of the supplier we manage simultaneously the guidelines by law for our customer. In cooperation with Dmax we built a system called MERLIN which integrates the flow of commodity, in our case paper, glass, plastic etc., with the cash flow. Together with Dmax, VfW has turned a very complex system into a more manageable and effecient logistics service that translated in more income at bottom line level.

How has the software developed by Dmax experts helped your operation?

Vfw made the first experience with DMAX in a warehousing project called “LUKAS”. Building up of the required knowhow of the industry and the processes with its employees and realization of the solution with its IT experts was Dmax's main strength. It is the philosophy of Vfw to create innovative and reasonable solutions and Dmax fitted in this vision smoothly.

Dmax developed and is developing software solutions of a high level and help companies like Vfw to optimize the internal processes and the external client access.

How come did you go for a tailored solution instead of possible existing off-the-shelf alternatives?

Vfw works in a very particular market niche, so an off-the-shelf solution is not on the market. The main process is integrated in our ERP System, and all special features have been realized with the Dmax team. At the moment we are planning the integration between the ERP system and the Dmax solution based on the web services.

With this move we will take the next step on our way of process optimization. With thousand of IT firms sprawling all over Germany, why did you specifically opt for a firm based in Malta?

We made a lot of different experiences with German IT firms. Good ones and not so good ones. The reason for the cooperation with Dmax is the excellent price versus performance ratio. We get as well trained software engineers as we get in Germany for a better price and better motivation. The next point is that the cultural differences between Germany and Malta are minimal. I note that employees of our IT department enjoy the teamwork with Dmax, and that’s the important point to realize the project in budget and time.

Now that Merlin has passed your rigorous quality testing and has received your seal of approval by management, where do you see this new system moving on to in future?

The new system will spread out in other parts of our business. Especially after the connection to our ERP System INFOR ERP LN (former BaaN) with the web services Merlin will be integrated part of our IT solution. We think that the combination of the ERP System for the main processes like finance, controlling and order management together with the tailored solution by Dmax for dealing with the special aspects of our business is a good basis for the future.

Dmax is committing more human resources to meet your expanding operations. How do you see your company relationship with Dmax developing in the next 5 years?

Dmax will be our partner for the developing of the integrated new IT Solution. We are working close with the Maltese team and see potentials for the two companies as our logistical systems can be exported to other regions, even outside of German borders, where our services are increasing in demand.

Your views, questions and commebts are welcome via email ray@dmax.tv or phone +35621347990 or Skype ray.de.bono

Why the trees disappeared from Sacred Island of Malta...

2009-06-16T02:28:00.001-07:00

Yes, folks. Malta was full of trees. It is reported in history books by many travelers that heralded to our shores, some willingly, like Al Himyari (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbi_al-Himyari), others accidentally, like St. Paul, the bearded chap in robes, you remember him? They all reported on how green the island was, covered with woods, and inhabited by a relentless humanoid species, which our patron saint aptly referred to as Barbarians (grazzi ta Sur San Pawl, ey!).

In the year 6,250BC, in Bir Lonzu, limits of where today we have Bubaqra, at the time when there was a temple construction boom (yes, it started much earlier...), Dudu and Duda, with their little boy Dudinu, started cutting trees, more and more...

Until there were NONE left... or almost...

Dudinu grew and formed the Malta Logging Company, that boomed for some time but went in liquidation, centuries later as the last Balluta tree fell over Sciberras Hill, in circa 1530AD. And do you want to know the latest? Why was there another power cut today?

And why did we have a POWER CUT today?

I am sure it was the blizzard! Or was it an alien mother ship that beamed x-rays at the solar powered Marsa station? Or was it the newly set up wind turbines in Delimara, they got clogged with bird droppings? Or...was it the solar panels on top of all public buildings, they got darkened with soil-filled rain....Hmmm let me see...It must be an energy saving initiative...Yeah. It makes sense. In Berlin this week 1 minute black-out made the headlines...

Malta, dear Malta. You deserve MUCH better...

Ray de Bono

Drivers’ Tales. We reached a stage where it stopped being funny…

2009-06-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Driving my way from Mellieha is no mere undertaking. Keeping aside the driving habits of most of us Maltesers, the roads we drive our battered vehicles upon are not exactly the epitome of perfection.

I wonder if there is an authority in charge which actually checks, I mean, literally investigates the quality of the asphalt or tarmac, the realistic location of signage, the consistence of road surfaces, the legibility and visibility of street markings, the street lighting, and so on.

Just off the former (now derelict) Belleview site, one reaches a huge roundabout, or what a tourist may describe as a ‘garden-like circular structure’.

Pay double attention as the traffic island leading down to this roundabout, from Mellieha centre, is high and bushy. Its shrubs obstruct your view of any oncoming traffic swerving around the circus - if not for a bus or truck - as the latter are high so slowing down at this stage helps. It is obvious one will need to give way but if driving to work late and in a hurry, you may easily snap the occasion and drive forth into a surprising crash…

Down towards Mistra, you driving by a hideous structure, an Enemalta room or store, situated on the left at the foot of what used to be the road leading to Selmun. This structure has now an ominous cement field all around it, as some genius decided to flatten the green patch of field that adorned its perimeter for future BBQ's, perhaps. Very ugly site indeed. A round of applause goes to MEPA for their stroke of genius, or blindness.

At the Mistra valley we drive over a bridge, albeit few may realize it actually is a bridge. This is an old structure, must be over 40 years old (is it?), or so I reckon. If you drive this road for over 10 years you grow familiar to the cracks alongside this little treacherous stretch. I hope and pray these are nor the tell tale signs of a bridge in distress, and that the regular cement and tarmac resurfacings are not a cosmetic touch-up to hide its advanced dilapidation…

So yes, it seems we are driving through a 'risky' road…and we haven’t yet crossed half the journey to Attard…Xemxija. What a sight! Sporadic structures that look more Middle Eastern than Sounthern European or Mediterranean adorn the hills, boringly designed apartment blocks, especially on the site formerly occupied by the graceful Mistra Village complex. I am not sure but they all seem vacant and so dull.

It shows trucks are very common on these roads. Cement and paint trails along the surface can be seen from as near as the notorious St. Paul’s’ Bay by-pass. What a pity. Recently launched, this road was potentially a cut above the rest on the island. It used to be smooth, pacenzja, as we say in Maltese…it is now peppered with dried cement that give you an annoying vibration on your steering wheel as you drive – making sure you wake up well in the morning…

This by-pass boasts other tricky features, as its partially collapsed part, just overlooking Xemxija bay. A long standing saga of the first part of the road that collapsed, and was never repaired has reached tragicomic state as driving up this stretch of road, just leaving Xemxija, become a duel as the two lane carriage way narrows down instantly in one narrow lane, partially barred by shabby metal barriers.

It takes remarkable driving skills if you happen to be at logger heads with another car on your left, one has to give way…

To be continued…unfortunately, this is just 10 minutes of driving, not the complete trip. Seriously, considering what we pay in road taxes we deserve better, don’t we?

Ray de Bono

The shooting goes on...and on...who's next?

2009-04-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

BirdLife demands tough action after ranger's shooting (Times of Malta 14.04.09)

....................................

Dmax Comment after the shooting of the hapless ranger:

...or maybe a gust of wind that blew over the fields of L-Ahrax tal-Mellieha so fierecly earlier this week, extracted the lead pallets deep from within the fertile red soils of Torri-L-Ahmar hill and scattered them across Ray Vella's face in revenge for his Land Rover trespassing former free-for-all hunting grounds...Or perhaps he was shot by alien invaders looking for the spirits of fallen trees (thousand were hacked to pieces by wondering spirits very recently)..or perhaps this wass a cleverly planned plot by our world leading road planners eager to stretch tarmac over the area to help Gozitans in their desperate haste to reach their distant shores by cutting their trip by a good 5 minutes drive!! Or ....perhaps...Was it self-inflicted? Did he also set his farm recently on fire, too? Maybe he likes to play with sulfarini (matches)?...Naughty boy, Ray...slap on the wrist!! Pastaz...

Surely there is no one else to blame in this island of virgins....: )

....................................

BirdLife Malta and Din L-Art Helwa have called for tough action by the authorities following the shooting this morning of the ranger of the Foresta 2000 afforestation project.
The ranger, Ray Vella, suffered slight head injuries and was released from hospital after treatment. The incident happened just after 6 a.m. as Mr Vella came out of his Land Rover at the afforestation site near the Red Tower in Mellieha.

Foresta 2000 is jointly managed by DLH, BirdLife and the Parks Department.
DLH President Martin Galea and BirdLife President Joseph Mangion condemned the incident and pointed out that this was the latest in a string of incidents against BirdLife. It was also the third violent attack against Mr Vella.

In all such cases, they said, no one was ever taken to court and unless there was tough action to find who the aggressors were, the situation could get worse.

The latest attack, they said, was unlikely to have been a mistake, given that Mr Vella was coming out of his Land Rover with the lights still on.

"We need a strong message from the authorities that they are in control," Mr Mangion said. He added that security at Foresta 2000 would be reviewed.
Mr Vella was previously shot at two years ago, suffering facial injuries. His small farm was torched last year.

Lino Farrugia, secretary of the Hunters' Federation (FKNK) said when contacted that he did not know the circumstances of the case, but the FKNK condemned any incident of this nature.
The Labour Party and Alternattiva Demokratika issued statements to condemn the incident.
The PL said this was an evil attack which could have had grave consequences.It expressed solidarity with Mr Vella, his family and BirdLife, who, with much sacrifice, maintain the woodland at Mellieha.

AD Chairman Arnold Cassola said some people could not accept that there were people and organisations who worked to preserve and take care of the natural heritage and that there were areas, of which there should be more, where priority was given to nature protection.
"We hope that those who resort to firearms and extreme violence are brought to justice as quickly as possible."

PS: Taken from: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090414/local/foresta-2000-warden-shot-injured

Joke of the Year: Welcome to Malta of the Middle Ages...

2009-03-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Speaking of the Danish Cartoon Crisis, Malta's Law is no way short of OUTDATED!

Read on...Man gets suspended sentence for ridiculing religion
Source: http://www.maltamediaonline.com/?p=5719

A 26-year-old man from Zejtun, Melvin Barbara, has been given a suspended sentence by the Gozo Courts after pleading guilty to ridiculing and making fun of the Roman Catholic religion.Melvin Barbara was accused that on the night between 21st and 22nd February 2009, he offended Roman Catholics or the ministers of this religion during the Nadur carnival.
He was accused of wearing a sacred habit without permission, or against the prohibition of the respective authorities.

The Maltese: Reflecting the Continents' Rich Cultural & Linguistic Diversity

2009-03-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

This article is written in reply to the Times of Malta article published 1st March 2009 - 'Malta... where Saudi makes its money - literally'.

See: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090302/local/malta-where-saudi-makes-its-money-literally

Malta is a Southern European Island, not just politically but also ethnically, and has been so for centuries. It has been occupied by the Arabs, which de-populated it and populated it for some time. This happened between the 8th and the 11th century. It is good to note that the population was small with around 10-20,000 inhabitants overall, consisting of people classified as Islamic, Christian and Jewish, in order of prevailing numbers. One must add, Arab rulers allowed other faiths to flourish given they paid the 'harag' tax, a subtle incentive for many to change faith. Al Qimyari , a respected Arab traveller of the time (read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbi_al-Himyari ), wrote that many Christians that inhabited Malta BEFORE the Arab conquest from the Byzantines, left at their own free will. This is recorded in history.

Your article here has an inherent fallacy, which I trust has good intentions. Nonetheless, saying Maltese people are Arabs, simply because the Maltese islands happened to have been conquered by the Arabs (like Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, etc.), or simply because they speak a language with strong Arabic influence, is historically incorrect. The article erroneously refers to the Maltese as Catholic Arabs. With the same argument one can say that during the Arab period many Maltese were former Christian converts into Islam, as is likely to have been the case. But the logic in both observations when used as an argument to proof our ethnicity is simplistic and verywrong. The fact that locals evidently accepted Islam as their faith of choice at the time does not in any way mean they became Arabs as ethnicity is not determined by faith.

One cannot deny the Maltese are a mixture of Mediterranean peoples and others, including the Arabs, but this itself does not define our ethnicity. A quick look to the telephone directory presents a rough but indicative clue to our ethnical mix, with a strong body of surnames emanating from Italian/Sicilian, French, Sicilian, Arabic/North African, and also English and French names.

Prominent researchers on this topic, like Professor Godfrey Hull, in his seminal study 'The Maltese Language Problem' addresses these issues thoroughly. Ethnicity and language can be related, but this is not the case in Malta.

When the Normans arrived, some say, ‘liberated’ Malta from the Arabs in circa 1030, they did not send all the local people of Islamic faith (note the difference, not Arabs, but people of Islamic faith) out. They simply sent out the rulers and their associates. Islam still reigned for some time, and was tolerated until Malta gradually took into hordes of people from the Norman territories that entailed most of Italy and these were Christians. So much so that the population more than tripled over the subsequent few centuries, and this was far from a natural growth trend. One can only assume that many people from the small population which still professed Islamic faith either converted to Christianity thus were absorbed in the new prevailing population or are likely to have left for North Africa close-by.

One can argue that topography has survived centuries and we still have many villages and towns with words of Arabic origin as is the case in Sicily and Spain. But the same as language, topography is just a reflection of Malta’s colourful history, with a multifaceted identity morphed throughout the years, nothing more.

One can also argue that we are Arabic speaking, though this argument will not necessarily hold linguistically from a scientific (i.e. objective) academic perspective, but this point – with all due respect to Arabic (which is a prominent, rich language) – does not make us Arabs.

Before making any sweeping amateurish statements, one needs to study historical evidence, and learn the truth about the Maltese peoples' origin. The Southern European identity, with a mix of Mediterranean and European ancestry - irrespective of the local vernacular, and its Semitic/Arabic/Italian & Sicilian undertones is the one that defines the average Maltese. We have a rich ethnical heritage that, yes, to some extent naturally includes North African elements, as well as it does include French, English, and Spanish and to a larger extent Sicolo-Italian traits.

This is what makes the Maltese so interesting, and I like to say, somewhat ‘unique’ as people. They share so much with so many people around their tiny group of islands. This mix makes them richer and potentially so instinctively open to people hailing from diverse cultures yet with whom they share historic and cultural affinities, irrespective of their origin. The Maltese are old Europeans, forming a fascinating link in the regional historical evolution and their complex identity cannot but highlight the likely future of Europe as a society that ought to be more tolerant, understanding, yet more appreciative of the diversities that embellish its rich overall tapestry.

Ray de Bono

Dmax is Expanding: Additional Graphic Designers Needed. Full Time.

2008-11-21T08:08:00.001-08:00

Dmax is one of Malta’s leading branding companies serving mostly international clients in Malta, Germany & the UK. Read about us at dmaxstudios.co.uk

We are looking for experienced pre-press designers with knowledge of desktop publishing and corporate identity design. Being able to work within a multinational team of branding & studio professionals, developing innovative concepts for international clients is an integral
part of this post.

Applicants must be conversant in the use of mainstream studio design software (such as Freehand, In-design, Page Maker and Photoshop).

Having a drive for outstanding ideas, a distinctive sense of style and related work experience will be considered as assets. Excellent command of English is a must.

Above average conditions commensurate with experience will be offered to the chosen candidate(s).

Send Application, CV plus a portfolio of industry-related works which you have created (in pdf format) by email to ceo@dmax.tv. Closing date: 6th December 2007.

Our Studios in Malta are at Dmax House, (Branding Dept.) No. 5 Saviour Street, Attard. Malta EU

Winter Looming

2008-09-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Winter Looming
I set forth
Seeking droplets on the pavement
Greener bushes on the side

I hug my pillow
Breathing sweet incense
Feeling your velvety skin
And nimble hands so arduous
On my ego

Winter Looming
I set forth
Seeking droplets on the pavement
Greener bushes on the side

Staring at your pale face
Shiny eyes
That speak volumes of blank clammy pages
Of prose that’s never inked
Of Poetry, that’s never shown
The light of day

Winter Looming
I set forth
Seeking droplets on the pavement
Greener bushes on the side

Arms wide open
I welcome
Your darken skies
Wash away my slippery cheeks
With hope of flowery blossom
Around the ides of March

Ray de Bono

27.09.08

Dmax Recruitement Call Summer 08

2008-07-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Viva il-BASS drivers! (aka 'bus drivers' currently going on a rampage with a strike...)

2008-07-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

I am not against Strikes. I am against Thugs!

1. How in a modern EU country are certain things allowed to happen?
2. Where are the Police + Armed Forces?
3. What will be the implications on Brand Malta??
4. Is it not illegal to kidnap a Person off a bus, beat him and to block a Street with a vehicle? Was anyone arrested - with all the witnesses around??

Solution: The government should invite other EU transport providers to come and operate emergency services in Malta. The government should offer them and passengers alike security to immediately restore a safe transport service in Malta for all, and quick.

Message to Strikers: Get an education. Nobody is above the law. All other businesses have competition, even pastizzi vendors - YOU are not any more special than the rest of us.

PS: 'Bass' (pronounced exactly like the English word 'bus' in Maltese is slang for 'to fart', or to put in mildly, to 'release air'.

Ray de Bono for Dmax Online Blog

Vacancies - Research Project (Short Term)

2008-06-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

We are looking for people to assist in a survey being conducted by one of Dmax's Associates.

Please contact our offices if you are interested. More details will be provided upon demand.

E-mail: ray@dmax.tv

Tel. 21347990/989

Who did you call a racist?

2008-05-23T02:50:00.000-07:00

Where does Racism stop?
S Africa violence: 'Screams haunt me'

Several thousand foreigners have fled South Africa after days of violent attacks by angry mobs. Among them are many Zimbabweans who prefer to risk the violence there than stay in South Africa.

Thabiso, a 36 year-old Zimbabwean woman, had to flee the township of Thembisa near Johannesburg, after a series of xenophobic attacks.
I was awoken by the sound of screaming on Monday. I realised they had set alight a shack belonging to a Mozambican immigrant.

He tried to escape the fire. But the residents were armed with all sorts of traditional weapons and AK-47 rifles.

They shouted: "Umbambe engabaleki", which means "Don't let him run away" in Zulu.
They threw a brick at his head and he fell down.

The mob caught up with him, doused him with petrol and threw him back into the burning shack.

The screams of the burning Mozambican still haunt me. When I close my eyes to try to sleep, I see the man screaming for help. But no-one helps him.

I have never seen such barbarism. I cannot stand this kind of life.

Some other Zimbabweans and I ran to take shelter in a shack owned by a South African woman a few yards away.

Other residents, who had seen us taking refuge at the house, followed us shouting: "Where are the foreigners?"

This mob was armed with sticks and knives. They called out the house-owner's name and ordered her to give us up.

She told the attackers we were not foreigners but South Africans.
What saved us was that we could speak Zulu, unlike some of the others who could only speak English.

After that the thugs left and searched for other foreigners who were already fleeing the area for the city centre.

Some of the women living in the settlement told me they had been raped. They said they could
not inform the police, because they knew that would not help them. They even thought the police were collaborating with the mob.

I have lived in South Africa for eight years and had never seen such beatings and brutality by locals.

I had to leave with just a few clothes in a bag but many others had to leave with nothing.

I used to work at a restaurant in Johannesburg to support my two children but now I have decided to go back home, at least for a few weeks until the situation improves.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7414895.stm

2008-04-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Those shadows

what difference do i make in God's fascinating plan...
playing with stars
milking away the years
if I am anything,
what am I?

Not a speck in the tide of time
not a spark in the abyss of hallow skies,
galaxies that inhabit the universe

what difference does it make to be left cold
life or dead?
to disintegrate into the soil
and become one with elements that fathered me...

if my nest grew chilled
and my arms hold themselves
in eerie silence
as I laugh in agony
at the mass ice age that flames around

...what difference do I make in God's fascinating plan?

and who cares if not
the shadows
that accompany me
in this life
bred without our consent
...their eyes flickering
as tears fly and shine
magic wonders
reflecting a reality that we cherish
and dream
in surreal hope
of a life that outlives
the morge

Shadows smile or cry,
they are real
as they speak my heart
and long for my arms
your arms,
you,
...whom I don't know
though

I wish to hold

what difference would all this make in God's fascinating plan?

Ray de Bono
22.04.08

Listen to the music that inspired it... click here : http://www.radioblogclub.com/open/151767/mozart/Sonate_de_Mozart_02

Picture credits: lubomir_bukov_shadows-of-past-bw-frame

Here and Now

2008-04-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

Here and now
if nice
is precious more than years ago
where bliss is not more than a frill in my memory
that alters and falters by time

Here and now
is dear too,
as I taste, smell, see and feel it
hear it playing
mellow
as we speak

Here and now
is really only what I have
as then,
is nothing but
plan,
and chance

Here and Now
is by then
my new charms to recall,
as I smile
and thank the moment,
that's already
gone.

Ray de Bono
17.04.08

Image rights: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Double-alaskan-rainbow.jpg

Glorified Ugliness in our Village Outskirts. Does it make you think?

2008-04-13T04:02:00.000-07:00

Ode to our Architectural Prowess

The many pre-historic structures that we have sprouting here and there - are amazing reminders of these island's antiquity and the long standing civilization of their diverse inhabitants.

The medieval limestone walls and bastions that fortify our cities, the old houses that core our villages, the baroque churches that are scattered all over the Maltese islands - aren't they charming and fitting to our weather, environment and temperament? These structures epitomise an age, and in many ways fossilise it.

But don't tell me that most structures erected after from the 1970's onwards, the limestone orgy of Malta's leftist age, the so-called housing for all, have left us with an outer core of ugliness littering our towns and villages; the ominous housing estates - the shear sight of which - gives me a bad mood, now shape most of our urban landscape. Whats more is the fact that for a supposedly noble cause, the use of limestone was made mandatory in the 70's, a decision that helped make peasant land owners rich from their quarry business, at the expense of changing our Southern European - Mediterranean Charms into the likes of Gaza and Nablus in the heart of the Middle East.

The 70's and 80's gave rise to the impression many tourist got (and may still get) of Maltese villages being in a permanent state of works-in-progress, always appearing as semi-finished (or semi demolished), with gusts of yellow sand blowing in the wind, old rusting second hand cranes and trucks lining the streets, and heaps of construction rubble openly thrown in front of every row of so-called modern maisonettes - in most cases built on pristine green areas - long before MEPA came to be - as if it would have made any difference.

Throughout the 90's little changed in this construction orgy, as if Malta had a population increase so high, that homeless were sleeping in make shift tents on the streets! We saw hundreds of new limestone structures sprouting everywhere you look, even metres away from World Heritage sites and the shore line. Speculation ruled galore.

Seen from a historic perspective, Malta having just obtained its independence in 1964, is a toddler state which to its credit goes the capacity to turn an economy that was based on military services and induced mass immigration, to a diversified one where tourism, manufacturing, electronics, and more recently IT, pharmaceuticals and financial services accelerated the wheels of business.

Picture: Msida Creek, with the parish church, the traditional town core skyline in Malta.

It is not a rare occasion when one comes across discussions on Malta's post independence performance over some dinner party chat, where the cliche argument of Malta having fared brilliantly if one had to compare it to other former British colonies such as Egypt, Nigeria or Kenya. The people who reassure themselves against such benchmarks are naively forgetting the likes of other ex-colonies such as hi-performers Australia, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, (and for those who shrug my argument saying these are huge countries) there is the tiny city-state Singapore for a quick reference. Not to mention our Mediterranean and EU partner Cyprus.

Malta and Singapore - a brief comparison

Malta and Singapore share a lot in common. In many ways their size is what strikes first your attention. Singapore's surface area is 270 compared to Malta's 121 square miles. Both are tiny. But if Malta is known for its population density* (7th globally*) with 400,000 people crowded on a few rocks in the Med, what can Singaporeans say about its 4, 600,000 population on their not-so-much-larger island in South East Asia (4th globally*)?

Picture: Singapore skyline by night

Arguably, population plays an important role in generating economic prowess but with a per capita income at US$40,000 against Malta's US$23,000, Singapore seems to be faring much better indeed. Its Gross Domestic Product is a staggering US$171 billion, compared to Malta's tiny US$9.3 billion. And by the way, like Malta, Singapore has no natural resources to boast about either.

English and Maltese share official language status in Malta , with English being the language of business and higher learning. In Singapore English is the language of administration with Malay as national language.

Both countries attract a good share of foreign direct investment, mainly due to their human resources being resourceful and fiscal realities that make such a choice more attractive.

Both countries are hot tourist attractions. About 9.7 million and 1.2 million tourists visited Singapore and Malta respectively in 2006.

Architecture

Which brings me back to the limestone case, which I am sure many passionate co-nationals might defend as a national symbol. Like in Singapore, Malta's architecture is a reflection of its history, cultural and ethnic mix.

Singaporeans have realised much before us that their growing population needed space, and this could only be found by moving upwards, and not by infringing on the few remaining green open spaces. The government there has imposed a limit of 280 metres of buildings height, and the city skyline is today a landmark of this small nation.

Picture: A Maltese quarry, munching deep into the soul of the Island.

Malta has taken another route altogether. The shrinking of available green areas and the expansion of building zone seem insatiable. Limestone remains a major building material, and any satellite image of the island shows the ugly craters than disfigure the land surface, with churned up hills even in tourist and areas of historic importance. Stories of accidentally discovered unreported archaeological sites abound, all in the sleazy ambition to exploit more land to fuel the ongoing building craze.

Up till the Nationalist government of Borg Olivier (1962-1971) , Malta continued with its traditional Latin (pro-Italian) drive, that when combined to our British influences reflected our true Southern European outlook. The Socialist, pro-Arab orientation advocated by the Mintoff and Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici governments of the 70's and 80's created the limestone craze, enshrining it in a law that made all facades to have this blessed stone as its main building material - rather than the concrete hallow grey bricks - starting a momentum of Middle Eastern style buildings that mushroomed all over the islands since then.

Picture: Typical limestone buildings mushrooming outside village cores in Malta

A quick look at our old village cores, the likes of Balzan, Lija, Zebbug, Zejtun, as well our cities and main towns of Valletta, Floriana, Zabbar and Sliema immediately shows the South European dimension, the classical inspiration, baroque or neo-classical.

Yet the limestone invasion then started. And this can be seen best in the buildings that surround the old village cores, that appear as if to have been constructed by another breed of people, conceived by a new school of architectural thought (if at all), yet crafted and built by the same old bennejja.

These outer village structures, with their so-called modern houses and maisonettes, many with adorning stone columns on the balconies, often brandishing classical bombastic statues from classical Greek themes, are more reminiscent of the Middle East in their creative look and feel, thus are alien to our region, and I believe have disfigured our skyline, ambiance and environment.

One could argue that perhaps the latter was an unintentional occurrence in our building styles, as we were slowly trying to assert our new identity as an independent state, establishing our 'own styles and trends'.

It may also be due to economic realities arising from Mintoff's efforts to promote workers' at the cost of established entrepreneurs of his time. Money was scarce and in times of such scarcity aesthetics often is a first liability. It looks very much like the fact builders themselves took over many responsibilities of the architects and draughtsmen, churning out structures simply construed to economic limitations (or greediness) , ignoring aesthetics, totally missing historic significance and using exclusively limestone with which they played and thrived. Much this comes more to my surprise since Mintoff was himself a British trained Architect and Civil Engineer.

Picture Above: A Step in the right direction: The Portomaso Complex represents a combination of traditional Maltese charm with a foward looking, modern touch.

This is yet another case in Malta's history where the common people's art and crafts took over as national realities - as had happened before with the native dialect of the bdiewa (farmers) that the British helped adopting for us as 'the Maltese Language'. The benneja and their political lackeys of the time forced their uncultured architectural barbarism on the rest of the population.

I am certain that a heap of arguments quoting a list of researchers and sociologists can be thrown back at my face to contradict my claims. They are welcome. I love an constructive argument.

The way I see it is that this was a home grown cultural rape that altogether with the then drive toward closer relations to Libya and other emerging Arab dictatorships in Algeria and Egypt, created an identity that befitted the new role models' of our political demagogues of the time which where down south.

The solution adopted in Singapore when faced with a huge housing challenge, with many make shift constructions segregating the various ethnic groups forming the nation was to radically plan and reconstruct huge chunks of the national urbanised area. This came as a cost, including the loss of many historical landmarks, which constituted a grave mistake. Though overall Singapore has solved its housing problems by providing a modern approach, using the very latest in architectural mythologies shared from around the world.

Malta is obviously limited as to how much the mistakes of over-building, and worst still, I dare say, the erection of ugly structures cannot be undone as these have now been endorsed by the state and are legal. What one can do is to help creating better awareness about prevailing architectural styles, promoting awareness of design, especially from around the rest of Europe.

Education will certainly help inducing a slow but sure change in mentality. A better educated population that possesses a sense of style and appreciation of architectural beauty will not accept ugliness to re-emerge, and will help so that by time it disappears.

I am certain that open minded research into Malta's post independence economic development and how this exhibited itself in the island's architecture will shed more insight into the points I have raised. I am almost certain that deep in our erratic style shifts in building technology, styles and fashions, political moods, international aspirations and international views lies the old ethnic division lines, long buried under the carpet of time and the veil of Catholicism that may have acted as our national unifying force. It is seldom the case where ethnic diversity is discussed openly in Malta as a factor that affects are cultural and political outlook. Our national integrity will not be challenged by our deeper understanding of our ethnical make-up and composition. Ours is a cosmopolitan mix, reflecting thousands of years of both peaceful and forced colonisations, of piracy and trade. It is this colourful history and inbuilt diversity that I believe has given rise to our cultural richness and significance beyond our geographical minuteness.

It is also what weaves our character as islanders, our economic drive and willingness for self determination in the face of adversity. It may also be our our mixed ethic composition that often separates us in two blocks (as is evidenced in our bi-polar political scenario); one side endemically inward looking, peripheral, premordial, reclusive in its mind-set, and the other forward looking, looking more towards European influences where it feels more at home, is more positive and more inclined to risk taking.

The acceptance of these fundamental characteristics embedded in our identity may enable our better understanding of the factors defining our temperament and help us gear ourselves to concentrate on our common aspirations as an old European nation that has recently taken control of its own destiny.

Ray de Bono
Dmax Malta Blog

..............................................................................
Statistical Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/

Common sense prevails. At last!

2008-03-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Malta applies to rejoin PFP
Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partnership_for_Peace

The Cabinet has decided that Malta should reactivate its membership in the Partnership for Peace, the government said.

Malta had joined the PFP in 1995 but withdrew its membership in 1996, following a change in government.

The government said that joining the PFP will not effect Malta's neutrality but will enhance its participation within the EU. Moreover, the Armed Forces of Malta will also benefit from the membership since it will be able to participate in different exercises such as humanitarian and rescue exercises.

The fact that Malta was not part of the PFP was creating hindrances since the government did not have access to confidential documents that the NATO and other PFP members exchanged between them.

Source: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080320/local/malta-applies-to-rejoin-pfp

The price to pay for being a Christian...in Iraq

2008-03-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

Kontu informati? Did you know? Eravate informati?

Kidnapped Iraqi archbishop dead

from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7294078.stm

Archbishop Rahho's body was found buried near MosulPaulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop in Iraq who was kidnapped last month, has been found dead near the northern city of Mosul.

An Iraqi police officer and morgue official confirmed reports that the archbishop's body had been found buried near Mosul, where he had been abducted.

The Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI was profoundly moved and saddened by Archbishop Rahho's death.

He was kidnapped soon after he left Mass in Mosul on 29 February.
According to the SIR Catholic news agency, the kidnappers told Iraqi church officials on Wednesday that Archbishop Rahho was very ill and, later on Wednesday, that he was dead.
It is not clear whether he was killed, or died of natural causes. Nobody has claimed responsibility for his death.

The archbishop was the latest in a long line of Chaldean clerics to be abducted in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Three people who were with him at the time were killed by gunmen.
A Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said: "The most absurd and unjustified violence continues to afflict the Iraqi people and in particular the small Christian community, whom the Pope holds in his prayers in this time of deep sadness".

Earlier in Iraq, a car bomb in the capital Baghdad was reported to have killed at least seven people, and wounded at least 20.

According to AP, the bomb was in a parked car in Tahrir Square, a central commercial district just outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses much of the Iraqi government and the US Embassy.

The attack is the latest in a series in Baghdad, following several months of relative calm.

It could be the weather, my long days at work, my personal life or simply the electrifying election fever but I feel inspired by it all...

2008-02-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow Beckons

I am scared

and my limits haunt

me

as when I think I know them

I am petrified as they fall

short

or rather

shorter

than my Ego dictates.

So I wonder

and stare

pale

into the oblivious tomorrow

and the surprises

it holds.

Ray de Bono
21.02.08

Feeling Poetic is a Sickness...

2007-09-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

Ma Nafx!

................................

I don’t know

Ma nafx

I am not in love

I am captivated

Enthralled

I am a collection of photos shifting in the wind

Clapping my hands against sighs of approval as I doze off thinking

Afloat on dreams of caverns that…

Hugging me dear

Oh dear!

….twinkling stars

How I wish I can stay there

I don’t know
Ma Nafx

Ray de Bono 18.09.07

................................

Libya goes Nuclear thanks to French President! Hurray...

2007-08-06T06:37:00.001-07:00

...and both MLP and PN Approve. How come?

Read link: http://images.google.com.mt/imgres?imgurl=http://www.libya-almostakbal.com/Reports/June2006/human_rw_busleem280606_files/image001.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.libya-almostakbal.com/Reports/June2006/human_rw_busleem280606en.html&amp;amp;amp;amp;h=300&w=300&sz=18&hl=en&start=10&tbnid=PQueHHtXBB_fXM:&amp;amp;amp;amp;tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3DLibya%2BHuman%2BRights%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den mage001.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.libya-almostakbal.com/Reports/June2006/human_rw_busleem280606en.html&amp;amp;amp;amp;h=300&w=300&sz=18&hl=en&start=10&tbnid=PQueHHtXBB_fXM:&amp;amp;amp;amp;tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3DLibya%2BHuman%2BRights%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den

Libya: June 1996 Killings at Abu Salim Prison

A Human Rights Watch Backgrounder

28/06/2006

In the summer of 1996, stories began to filter out of Libya about a mass killing in Tripoli’s Abu Salim prison. The details remained scarce, and the government initially denied that an incident had taken place. Libyan groups outside the country said up to 1,200 prisoners had died.

In 2001 and 2002, Libyan authorities began to inform some families with a relative in Abu Salim that their family-member had died, although they did not provide the body or details on the cause of death. In April 2004 Libyan leader Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi publicly acknowledged that killings had taken place in Abu Salim, and said that prisoners’ families have the right to know what took place.

In May 2005 Human Rights Watch visited Abu Salim prison, run by the Internal Security Agency. Head of the agency Col. Tohamy Khaled said the government had opened an investigation into the 1996 incident, but did not provide information on the manner or timing of the investigation. Human Rights Watch subsequently asked the Libyan government for details on the investigation, but the government failed to reply.

Prisoners in Abu Salim prison interviewed by Human Rights Watch in May were unwilling to speak about the incident, apparently out of fear. The interviews focused on their individual cases, and all of them said that conditions in the prison had recently improved.

In June 2004 and again in June 2006, however, Human Rights Watch interviewed a former Abu Salim prisoner who claims to have witnessed the killings. Now living in the United States, where he has applied for asylum, Hussein al-Shafa’i said he spent 1988-2000 in Abu Salim on political charges, but was never brought to trial, and he worked in the prison kitchen in June 1996. Human Rights Watch could not verify his claims, but many details are consistent with a report from an émigré Libyan group, based on another witness account.

According to al-Shafa’i, the incident began around 4:40 p.m. on June 28, when prisoners in Block 4 seized a guard named Omar who was bringing their food. Hundreds of prisoners from blocks 3, 5 and 6 escaped their cells. They were angry over restricted family visits and poor living conditions, which had deteriorated after some prisoners escaped the previous year. Al-Shafa’i told Human Rights Watch:

Five or seven minutes after it started, the guards on the roofs shot at the prisoners—shot at the prisoners who were in the open areas. There were 16 or 17 injured by bullets. The first to die was Mahmoud al-Mesiri. The prisoners took two guards hostage.

Half an hour later, al-Shafa’i said, two top security officials, Abdullah Sanussi, who is married to the sister of al-Qadhafi’s wife, and Nasr al-Mabrouk arrived in a dark green Audi with a contingent of security personnel. Sanussi ordered the shooting to stop and told the prisoners to appoint four representatives for negotiations. The prisoners chose Muhammad al-Juweili, Muhammad Ghlayou, Miftah al-Dawadi, and Muhammad Bosadra.

According to al-Shafa’i, who said he observed and overheard the negotiations from the kitchen, the prisoners asked Sanussi for clean clothes, outside recreation, better medical care, family visits, and the right to have their cases heard before a court, because many of the prisoners were in prison without trial. Sanussi said he would address the physical conditions, but the prisoners had to return to their cells and release the two hostages. The prisoners agreed and released one guard named Atiya, but the guard Omar had died.

Security personnel took the bodies of those killed and sent the wounded for medical care. About 120 other sick prisoners boarded three buses, ostensibly to go to the hospital. According to al-Shafa’i, he saw the buses take the prisoners to the back of the prison.

Around 5:00 a.m. on June 29, security forces moved some of the prisoners between the civilian and military sections of the prison. By 9:00 a.m. they had forced hundreds of prisoners from blocks 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 into different courtyards. They moved the low security prisoners in block 2 to the military section and kept the prisoners in blocks 7 and 8, with individual cells, inside. Al-Shafa’i, who was behind the administration building with other kitchen workers at the time, told Human Rights Watch what happened next:

At 11:00 a grenade was thrown into one of the courtyards. I did not see who threw it but I am sure it was a grenade. I heard an explosion and right after a constant shooting started from heavy weapons and kalashnikovs from the top of the roofs. The shooting continued from 11:00 until 1:35.

He continued:

I could not see the dead prisoners who were shot, but I could see those who were shooting. They were a special unit and wearing khaki military hats. Six were using kalashnikovs…

I saw them—at least six men—on the roofs of the cellblocks. They were wearing beige khaki uniforms with green bandanas, a turban-like thing.

Around 2:00 p.m. the forces used pistols to “finish off those who were not dead,” he said.

Abu Salim prison held between 1,600 and 1,700 prisoners at the time, and the security forces killed “around 1,200 people,” al-Shafa’i said. He calculated this figure by counting the number of meals he prepared prior to and after the incident.

Cleanup began around 11:00 a.m. the next day, June 30, when security forces removed the bodies with wheelbarrows. They threw the bodies into trenches—2 to 3 meters deep, one meter wide and about 100 meters long—that had been dug for a new wall. “I was asked by the prison guards to wash the watches that were taken from the bodies of the dead prisoners and were covered in blood,” al-Shafai’i said. In 1999 security officials poured cement over the trench, he claimed, although he believed that they later had the bodies removed.

The only other description of the incident comes from a report by the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, an opposition political group based outside Libya. Drawing on the account of an anonymous former prisoner who witnessed the incident (not al-Shafa’i), the report largely corroborates al-Shafa’i’s account.

The National Front report says that 120 sick and wounded prisoners boarded buses on June 28 to receive medical care but that many of them were executed, although it provides no details. The next day around 11:00, the report says, “hand grenades were thrown into the crowds of prisoners followed by continuous firing from different weapons like AK-47s, general purpose machine guns, crowd control machine guns. The raining of bullets continued for an entire hour.”

The report does not mention trenches but says that refrigerator trucks from the Meat Transportation Company and the Marine Fisheries Company took bodies away. On June 30, a forklift loaded the last bodies into a container for trains. In total, 1,170 prisoners died, the report says, but it provides no names.

The Libyan government has denied that any crimes took place. In May 2005, Internal Security Agency head Khaled told Human Rights Watch that prisoners had captured some guards during a meal and taken weapons from the prison cache. Prisoners and guards died as security personnel tried to restore order, he said, and the government had opened an investigation on order of the Secretary of Justice.

“When the committee concludes its work, because it has already started, we’ll give a detailed report answering all questions,” Khaled said.

According to Khaled, more than 400 prisoners escaped Abu Salim in four separate break-outs prior to and after the incident: in July 1995, December 1995, June 1996 and July 2001. Among the escapees were men who then fought with Islamist militant groups in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq, he said.

A Libyan group based in Switzerland, Libyan Human Rights Solidarity, says that since 2001 the authorities have notified 112 families that a relative held in Abu Salim is dead, without providing the body or details on the cause of death. In addition, 238 families claim they have lost contact with a relative who was a prisoner in Abu Salim.

The organization expressed concern about one of the four prisoner negotiators from June 28, Muhammad Bosadra. According to the group, the authorities transferred Bosadra from Abu Salim to an unknown facility in summer 2005, and no one has heard from him since.

Human Rights Watch spoke with the brother of one former Abu Salim prisoner whom the authorities had informed of his brother’s death. According to Farag al-Awani, now living in Switzerland, security agents arrested his brother Ibrahim al-Awani, 25 at the time, from the family home in al-Bayda in July 1995. The family never heard from Ibrahim again.

In 2002, members of Libya’s Internal Security Agency told the family that Ibrahim had died in a Tripoli hospital due to sickness. A death certificate they provided, viewed by Human Rights Watch, said Ibrahim had died on July 3, 2001, but it gave no cause of death. Despite repeated requests, the authorities never returned the body, as required under Libyan law. It is unclear if Ibrahim al-Awani died in the June 1996 incident or at another time.

“We just want to know what happened and to have the body back,” Farag al-Awani said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the Abu Salim report by the National Front for the Salvation of Libya see:
http://www.nfsl-libya.com/Studies/5065-e.htm (English)
http://www.nfsl-libya.com/Studies/5065.htm (Arabic)

For information on Abu Salim by the Libyan Human Rights Solidarity see:
http://www.lhrs.ch/

For Human Rights Watch material on Libya see:
http://hrw.org/doc?t=mideast&c=libya

Moody Days

2007-08-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

I Wonder

When it is my turn to die,
Will I ponder on my days afar?
Will I yearn for your arms and cry?

When it is my turn to die,
Will I despair in a lonely chill?
Will I hold your hands in mine?

When it is my turn to die,
Will I close my eyes and sigh?
Will lost loved ones linger on the other side?

Ray de Bono
18.07.07

Goodmorning, Malta!

2007-06-14T02:21:00.000-07:00

The problem with illegal immigrants in Malta is not the illegal immigrants themselves but the Maltese people!

Why I like Daphne's Reasoning...
(Thumbs Up!)

There isn’t a single EU member state that hasn’t got problems with illegal immigration, and here come the whining Maltese, behaving as though illegal immigration was invented just for Malta. There are illegal immigrants pouring in to the EU from every point on its borders except the Atlantic coast, and even there hopeful immigrants are working their way in from Morocco to the tip of Spain and Portugal. Albanians have been pouring in to Greece and Italy for years. Bulgarians and Romanians, before they became part of the EU, were streaming in and making their way all over. Russians and Serbians are everywhere. The big cities of Europe are chock-a-block with Chinese. Almost all these people want to make their way to the United Kingdom as the ultimate pot of gold at the end of their rainbow. They try desperate measures to get in, including packing themselves into cargo containers for the trip across the channel between England and France. Have any of these countries asked their fellow EU member states for help? Are they moaning in international forums? No, they’re not. They’re doing their level best to deal with it themselves, and they’re not without difficulties in respect of the citizens of their countries, either – far from it. Yet when public resentment grows, the leaders of those countries don’t yap, flap, squawk and blame “the EU”. They lead. They leave the flapping and squawking to the far right parties and the equivalent of the National Front.I can’t understand why Malta wanted to join the EU as an equal, but then expects exceptions to be made in its case when there’s something it doesn’t like. We can’t expect to take an equal share of what’s positive, but a lesser share of what’s negative. Why should our fellow EU member states share Malta’s immigration burden when they don’t share the immigration burden of Britain, Italy, or Germany? Our perception that we need more help because “we’re small” is inane. If we’re big enough to join the EU as an equal member state, then we’re big enough to deal with our own problems.This is what our ministers should be telling our people, but first they have to understand it themselves. If Britain helps to police our borders, then reciprocity will apply, and we will be expected to help police Britain’s borders and check the containers for suffocating Chinese. If Germany helps us, then Germany will also have to help Italy, Spain, Greece, and Cyprus. If they all club together and give us money to feed the immigrants – perhaps another saint could be inveigled upon to work a little miracle with some loaves and a couple of fishes – then we will have to do the same and give our share to our fellow member states to cope with their own immigration problems. What we are doing is making a drama out of something that we should be looking at as a routine problem. For let’s face it, that’s what it has become: a routine problem. It’s not going to stop, there is no solution, so we have to change our melodramatic attitude. Either that, or we’ll just have to take Norman Lowell’s advice, and shoot the lot of them on sight.A better solution would be to just grow up, and stop expecting others to solve our problems for us. That’s just a hang-over from the days of colonialism and Dom Mintoff. Our teenage years are long over. We’ll be 43 years old this summer, and old enough to know better. But maybe Malta is one of those middle-aged Maltese men who lives with his mother, who checks that he wears a vest and always gets his lunch ready.

And in Malta when? We need a breath of Fresh Air!

2007-05-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Expats a political force in Spain

Independent political parties dominated by expatriates - many of them British - are campaigning for the first time in Spain's local elections.

Mick Blake (left) is vice-president of one of the expat-dominated partiesThe BBC's Danny Wood examines this new phenomenon in San Fulgencio, in the southeastern province of Alicante.
Never before have European expats taken to the Spanish political arena like this.

They are the backbone of new political parties that have more expats on their lists of candidates than locally-born Spaniards.

Since the 1960s, the beaches, sun and affordable fiesta lifestyle have drawn millions of Europeans to Spain for holidays.

And not just holidays - there are now about 1.5 million expats resident in Spain, mainly British and Germans, many concentrated on the Costa Blanca around Valencia and Alicante, on the Costa del Sol and in the Balearic Islands.

For more than a decade, European Union residents have had the right to vote and stand as candidates in local elections, but until recently they have been keeping relatively quiet.
Now expats who live in Spain are entering the choppy waters of local politics en masse.
In the run-up to the 27 May elections, a number of local parties are dominated by expats and more than 300,000 European residents in Spain have registered to cast their ballots.
This could be the beginning of something of an expat political revolution.

Property scandals

British national Tony Cabban is already a councillor in the municipality Javea. He was one of the first expats to get involved in local politics and form an independent political group.

AIM was launched in January 2007 by Spanish national Manuel Barrera Mr Cabban, now running with the independent party Nueva Javea, says the mushrooming of expat-dominated political parties is a result of a lot of issues coming to a head: "There's a lot of dissatisfaction with the way towns are run."

One of the biggest issues is corruption in urban planning.

Property scandals and a failure by local councils to abide by planning laws have had a very direct impact on many expats living in Spain.

Marbella's entire town council was recently sacked over alleged involvement in the biggest property scandal in Spain's history.

Spain has progressed wonderfully well over the last 30 years but local politicians haven't
Mick BlakeVice president of AIM

Thousands of people who own houses, many recently constructed along the coast, are in danger of losing their homes to bulldozers because they were built illegally.
Under the controversial "Land Grab" law in Valencia, dozens of expats - after buying their homes - have been forced to pay thousands of euros in fees to local developers for improvements in local infrastructure.

Swathes of coastline around Alicante and Marbella are dominated by ugly, half-built developments. And there seems to be no end to this building.
Locals say the unfinished development at La Marina in the province of Alicante is the biggest in Europe. Expats and Spaniards are fed up.

Fernando Gadea is a Spanish former policeman who leads another new party: Progress and Order.

On his list of candidates, he says 11 out of 16 are non-Spanish nationals. "People want security and they don't have it," he says.

"There are so many unfinished houses around here. Others are illegally built on protected land. Things have got out of control."

As its name might suggest, Progress and Order says it has the answer to terrorism, delinquency and - without a hint or irony - what it labels "massive, uncontrolled immigration". That does not refer to more than one million British and Germans who are already in the country. The immigration that Progress and Order is worried about is generally non-European.
Crime, like house robberies that target the often relatively wealthy expat communities, is a concern driving some of the expat politicians.

There are basic issues too, like a demand for more health centres and better public transport for the expat-dominated developments.

But above all, a lot of non-Spaniards think, rightly or wrongly, that they are ignored by Spain's established political parties.

Bilingual schools

Many also feel that, despite investing a lot of money in the local community through house purchases and paying taxes, their economic weight is not reflected in their political representation.
It is a bit like the slogan used by American colonists back in the 18th Century to sum up their main grievance with their then British government: "No taxation without representation".
Another factor is the composition of the expat population. There are now more younger expats, many with children.

Expats voted to launch AIM - one of several expat partiesMore than the British and Germans who settled here in decades past, they see getting involved in politics as a normal part of living in their adopted home Mick Blake is vice-president of AIM (Partido Paradiso Agrupacion Independiente Mediterraneo). Eleven of AIM's 13 political candidates are non-Spanish Europeans, mainly British.

"Spain has progressed wonderfully well over the last 30 years but local politicians haven't," he says. "They´re stuck in a time-warp and they're not listening to the fact people now are saying it's time for a change, we need to advance."

For AIM that means sustainable development and bilingual Spanish-English schools.
The municipality of San Fulgencio, south of the city of Alicante, is where AIM, Progress and Order, Nueva Javea, as well as other parties with expats on their lists like GRIP (Grupo Independiente de Rojales) and the PSD (Socalist Democratic Party), are competing for seats.
The resident population here is about 11,000, more than half are British, followed by Spaniards and then Germans.

Everyone has the right to express their ideas

Jose ManuelSpaniard in San FulgencioIf old national sympathies mean anything and convert into votes you would think local Spanish mayor Mariano Marti Sanchez would be running scared. He is not.

The mayor says he is accustomed to having a large population of non-Spaniards and does not see anything remarkable about the rise of expat-dominated political parties.
"It's a positive thing that everyone in San Fulgencio participates actively in our political life. It's a good thing that the Europeans here are involving themselves in political parties, it will be good for the whole society."

He says he is doing what he can for non-Spaniards and rejects the concerns about urban planning or bilingual schools that local expat parties blame partly on his administration.

As I leave the council I notice that the council's monthly bulletin is in Spanish, English and German.

Spaniards have seen lots of political changes over the last three decades. A transition from dictatorship to democracy, and membership of the European Union.

Many are taking this latest political development in their stride.

In the town square in San Fulgencio, Jose Manuel says he has no problem with the local expats getting involved in politics. "I think everyone has the right to express their ideas, whether their political party is foreign, English, it doesn't matter, it's a wonderful thing."

The local butcher Eusebio agrees, but looks a bit concerned when he considers the Spanish language skills of some expats: "Of course it's a good thing having them involved in the local politics, but an English mayor who can't speak Spanish? That would be awful!"

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6647443.stm

Allow Hunting, by all means, but only if...

2007-05-10T05:05:00.000-07:00

1. One proves he/she is starving, has no other subsistence, no other alternative food source. One should not allow anyone to starve, when there are so many wild birds around, ey?

2. All hunters must prove that they are not littering. Seriously, anyone can get fines for littering so why are hunters allowed to shoot thousands of lead pellets all over the place, and get away with it? I mean, lead is known to be cancerogenic, and with the amounts dumped in our soil every year we must have the a sauciest lethal cocktail seeping into our water table and turning up into our vegetables...No wonder we have such high cancer rates on the island!

Only if these 2 points are rigorously met will I tolerate hunting in Malta.

Ray de Bono

MALTA: New Ideas Needed!

2007-03-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

In Malta we are blessed with an abundance on sun and wind energy, not to mention wave energy. This surely presents us with potentially suitable alternative energy sources given we (and forget about the government, people), WE the Maltese ourselves come up with feasible options.

We cannot keep depending on our governments. We can take the initiative. We can succeed.

It takes a good, bright idea, and loads of motivation. We can do it.

Portugal managed. Why not us?

Portugal opens major solar plant

The solar power plant is based in one of Europe's sunniest areas of Portugal and is probably the world's most powerful solar power plant.

The array of electricity-generating solar panels covers about 60 hectares (150 acres) in one of Europe's sunniest areas in southern Portugal. Officials say the plant should produce enough energy to supply 8,000 homes.

The plant is part of Portugal's efforts to cut its reliance on imported fuel and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that add to global warming. The plant is also meant to bring development and jobs to the Alentejo region 200km (125 miles) southeast of Lisbon, a poor area traditionally dominated by cork and olive production.

Renewable energy drive

The 11-megawatt plant has 52,000 photovoltaic modules, which will produce 20 gigawatt hours of power each year. Burning fossil fuels to generate the same amount of energy would result in 30,000 tons of greenhouse gases being emitted over the course of a year.

"This project is successful because Portugal's sunshine is plentiful, the solar power technology is proven [and] government policies are supportive," said Kevin Walsh of Renewable Energy GE, which built the project.

The facility was designed by PowerLight which will also operates and maintains it.
Portugal is developing wind, solar and wave power projects as part of a plan to invest $10bn (£5bn) in renewable energy over the next five years.

Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said he wants 45% of Portugal's power consumption to come from renewable energy

Source: http://www.bbcnews.com/

At the soft underbelly of Europe

2007-03-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

We have been there. Fought potentially oblivious of forming an integral part of the tapestry of Europe, yet our forefathers died on the battle ground that has morphed the Europe that is today. And now it’s the 50th Anniversary. A call for celebration, of the peace secured, of people united, of sovereignty shared, of shared differences, languages, races and livelihoods.

We are new in the Union but as age old Europeans we have shared a common history to most of our neighbours; as a Roman province, a Moorish conquest, a Norman liberated land, a Spanish dominion, a reluctant Knights base, a French dominion and ultimately, a willing British Colony.

Irrespective of their geographical and numeric disadvantages, the Maltese too have paid a dear price and in many humble yet instrumental ways, moulded European history in its present shape.

At the soft underbelly of Europe lies our semi desert island, over populated, thriving economy, petty environmental standards, peripheral if not pathetic political woes, yet a forward looking European Nation with a lot to share!

We crave for a driving force that engulfs this stretched continent from its ambivalent tips and toes, and from its east and west economic extremes, into one bundle of positive momentum.

We long for visionary leaders, a guiding light at these intrepid moments in our joint history.

We long for a more integral European drive, as one on an international level, where Europe speaks as one voice in today’s every more challenging world.

We look forward to a more unified European political framework that values and integrates minorities in the overall picture that instigates a sense of entrepreneurship in those regions lagging the drive; that fosters acceptance of varied cultures.

But as we wait, we do not dream but act. Our action is peaceful but fearless. We write, we debate, we press for positive renewal through a free and open media. We are fed up of pathetic consensus that only drifts people apart. We want a Europe of action, of results driven initiatives. We want a Europe of accountability and respect and propagation for human rights beyond the shores of the continent.

We dream of a Europe that actively promotes peace, prosperity in the Euro Med and Middle East. We want a Europe that promotes women’s rights, freedom of expression and the spreading of democracy.

We want action as one European body, not an assortment of pathetic single voice initiatives, from single countries within the bloc. We want a Europe that stands by the poor, the desolate, and the abused that surround our inspiring continent at the south and near/middle east. This is best achieved by actively sorting out problems at their historical and cultural roots, and not just by sprinkling million of Euros every year in the hands of immoral dictators that abound in the region, with never any sign of improvement. We have had enough of this!

At the soft underbelly of Europe we, the Maltese, can be the European voice for the region, altogether with our EU neighbours, sharing the same ideals and aspirations.

I believe that such action, such initiatives, involving not just the political classes, but a broader social spectrum that includes students, clerics, business people, artists and sport people, will make a longer lasting impact on the social, political and economic well being of our immediate neighbours. It will aso serve to create a common front, and a more patriotic European stance amongst the EU populace, a stronger heart felt desire of being European, and proud!

Happy Birthday EU!

Ray de Bono, for Dmax Blogspot Malta

We are Pathetic.

2007-03-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

The Right to Blog: The Egyptian Experience

2007-02-19T01:20:00.000-08:00

Long Live Blogging: And they say Egypt is Free!?

Blog trial: A lengthy jail sentence looms for a 22-year-old blogger accused of insulting President Hosni Mubarak. Abdel Karim Nabil Suleiman was arrested in November in a move condemned by human rights groups abroad. Read more: 1. http://karam903.blogspot.com/ and 2. http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGMDE120042007

Yeps. Blogging is here to stay. In the west where we live, I meant.

In Egypt, if one dares writing against the countries supreme leader he/she risks persecution, and probable death.

Think about it!

Ray de Bono, Dmax Malta

2007-02-06T01:32:00.000-08:00

EU citizens' 'right' to divorce
Ivan Camilleri Source Timesofmalta.com

Evelyne Gebhardt: "There is no law which says you can be divorced only if you are living in your country".

The European Commission has proposed a law to regularise the jurisdiction of EU courts concerning which law they should apply in case of cross-border divorce. The government has called for an "opt-out" clause so that the legislation would not apply to Malta.
Ivan Camilleri spoke to Evelyne Gebhardt, a German Socialist MEP who is handling this hot dossier for the European Parliament

How do you look upon divorce?The issue has nothing to do with the introduction of divorce. This has to be clear in people's minds. I am German and for us it is normal to have divorce. However, I've been happily married for 32 years and I do not want to divorce. At the same time I recognise the fact that sometimes, unfortunately, divorce is necessary.

Do you consider divorce a fundamental human right?I think it is normal to have access to divorce. I see that in Malta you have a particular problem because people who have money can obtain a divorce while others cannot. That is a problem of equality. However, it is not our duty to change anything in Malta.

Are you saying it does not make sense for a country not to allow divorce?I would only say that every country has to decide on how it wants to live.

An MEP recently described Malta as a country living in the 16th century country. Do you agree?Absolutely not. Malta is as it is and it is up to the people to decide.

The European Commission has proposed this legislation to regulate cross-border divorce. Is there really a need for the EU to legislate in this area?There is the need to enact legislation by which courts should be able to take the necessary decisions. In the EU there are still many different laws, some liberal and some restrictive.

There are couples who want to go for divorce but do not have the possibility to do that where they reside because there is no recognition of the law where they were originally married. This is a problem and we have to give this right to these EU citizens.

How are you looking at Malta's problem?Malta already allows divorces obtained in other countries, even those between Maltese citizens. At the same time, I have to admit there is still no answer on what to do with foreign people living on the island and who want to obtain a divorce in Malta.

We respect the Maltese system and we have to find a solution which respects Maltese law. At the same time there are other member states that are not happy with the Commission's proposal for other reasons such as because in their country divorce is more liberal than the Commission's proposals.

I believe people who are living in Europe, as citizens of Europe, do have a right to the same laws they have in their country.
Malta has called for an "opt-out" clause. Is this possible?That is one of the possibilities, but there are others. At the moment I am evaluating everything. There are people from the UK who are proposing this law should also include homosexual marriages which are not recognised in all the EU.

It is not easy to find a position which satisfies all the 27 member states but we will try.
But what about the opt-out?Well, an opt-out is not justified and it has to be something of a last resort - it has to come only if there is really no possibility for a solution.

I want to find a more positive solution. Foreign couples who are living in other member states have a right to choose to divorce even if they are not living in their countries. So if there are countries who opt out of this legislation, it will mean these EU citizens would be deprived of their rights.

It's OK that there is no divorce law in Malta but then you have to find a solution for people who are not Maltese but are living on the island and for them divorce is a normality.
There is no law which says you can be divorced only if you are living in your country. It is this problem that we have to solve.

If Malta is given an opt-out, we will not have a solution for these people. If we don't find another solution then an "opt-out" becomes a possibility. But I don't want to start by considering this solution.

What, then is the right solution?I do not have it right now. I will first seek the views of the Maltese authorities and see what the real situation is. I want to know how it is possible that the courts recognise divorces obtained in a foreign court if Malta does not allow divorce.
And if this happens, why shouldn't the courts recognise a divorce obtained under a different law by a foreign couple? The issue is very complex and so is the solution.

When do you plan to propose a solution?I am currently drafting a working document which will include all the opinions. I intend to organise a public hearing and issue my first draft report in October.

More than 270 million want their voice to be heard! Flippin Right!

2007-01-26T16:00:00.002-08:00

New call to save EU constitution

Good Morning, Malta! My Island of surreal peace. My Lilliput-landia.

An outpost of ambivalent Europeans suffering from a mass amnesia. Is this the end of our EU-phoria? It is time to stand up and be counted! For once, an issue agreed upon by all local political parties is at stake. And what are we doing about it? Nothing. There is hardly any real debate on this topic. Life goes on. For a second I wonder if this means anything to the crowds that so much cheered or booed the EU membership saga before May 2004; but now, like silent dumb sheep, we are not the least bothered. We got our Petty cash funds. We are patching up our streets. Getting jobs in Brussels.

We move on with our lives, as if nothing is really happening beyond the lovely shores of our islands. We assume that we are the one and only country on earth; the centre of the universe; if anything else exists is must be obviously a threat; or a source to suck up to… How pathetic.

If there had to be an animal that best describes most Maltese people right now, it would definitely be the ostrich - wit its head in the sand.

For many on this island joining the EU meant solely economic gain. How short sighted! How egoistic! Let us wake up to the present reality: Just because 2 founding (but equal, i.e. not less or more important) members of the union voted against the latest proposed EU constitution - we are now stuck without it being ratified. We are trapped in an economic club with pseudo-political aspirations (that are increasingly sounding more like pretensions), that as times go by is frizzling into oblivion, with an increasing membership, but an ever more diluted policy or vision.

Tajba din! (Good one!) Minority rules in the EU, apparently.

An EU without the constitution is nothing but a free market association. It is purely an economic bloc, no other strings attached. When we joined we were after belonging within a strong EU, a politically integrated Union, a joint security system, shared sovereignty, common foreign policy. Is it still the case?

OK: France and the Netherlands have rejected the constitution. Big deal! 18 countries ratified it. That is 270 million citizens saying YES.

As reported on BBC, the 18 EU countries that have ratified the bloc's draft constitution have just made another feeble call to the nine other members to help revive the entire beleaguered document.

Representatives of the states, meeting in Spain, called for the other nine
members not to scrap the constitution but to help build on it.

The UK, Czech Republic, and Poland want the constitution replaced by a new, slimmed-down mini-treaty. Oops. That smells like a blow beneath the belt to the EU aspirations for a respectable political mandate. Without the ratified constitution the EU's is no alpha male in the world chimp club. It is a beleaguered pathetic creature that crawls along its way, follows not leads;

French and Dutch voters rejected the constitution in referendums in 2005. And it seems their way is the way forward, as all stopped with their no. So my vote as a Maltese counts less than that of a guy in France, or Holland.

Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told the meeting in Madrid the constitution was "a magnificent document" that should be "complemented rather than carved up". Nice words.

"Is the only way out of the constitutional impasse the wholesale dismantling of the constitutional treaty? By cutting it into little pieces?" he asked.

The new constitution was drafted to streamline decision-making within the growing EU and would create a permanent president and foreign ministry.

The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Madrid says Spain now seems set on a collision course with opponents of the constitution.

We cannot resign ourselves to Europe being no more than a huge market or a free trade area
Alberto Navarro; Nicolas Schmit

Belgium and Luxembourg have expressed views similar to Spain's.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, aims to bring both camps together by June.

But our correspondent says that will not be easy.

Wary of dividing the EU even more, Germany only sent an observer to the Madrid meeting of "the friends of the constitution".

Germany did back the constitution in a parliamentary vote, but has not yet formally ratified it.

The countries represented in Madrid were: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

The conservative contender in the French presidential race, Nicolas Sarkozy, was the first to call for a mini-treaty that would be ratified by parliament, not through another referendum.

Mr Moratinos wants to enhance the existing constitution

A mini-treaty would cut the existing constitution into bits and preserve only the technical changes that would allow the EU to work more effectively and admit further new members.

The Europe ministers of Spain and Luxembourg, who organised the conference, say the countries that have approved the constitution - with a combined population of more than 270 million - want their voice to be heard.

In a joint article published in a number of European newspapers, Spain's Alberto Navarro and Luxembourg's Nicolas Schmit say that in today's globalised world "a united and capable Europe is more necessary than ever.

"We cannot resign ourselves to Europe being no more than a huge market or a free trade area," they write.

Main Source: BBC News 27.01. The article has been Re-Edited by Ray de Bono.

The original article can be seen at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6300231.stm

Cheating on Your Wife? It might end you up in Jail, for Life!

2007-01-20T03:46:00.001-08:00

Yes. And its not a Joke. And Malta maybe next...

With the ever-so-passionate +9 campaign in full swing, an anti-divorce crusade on the go, and with probably one of the highest concentration of churches on earth - we should be next, after Michigan (US), to ban extra marital flings!

The New Bishop will surely have more reasons to smile with the likely backing of such a rule from the ultra-Catholic Government, don't you think? And considering Malta's historic blind backing of Catholic dogmas at state level, I will not be surprised this anti-adultery regime becomes the next mission of some of the many zealot campaigners around, and before we know it, Malta follows suit...

In fact, the Michigan state's appeals court recently ruled that extramarital flings can be prosecuted as first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to life in jail. "We cannot help but question whether the Legislature actually intended the result we reach here today," Judge William Murphy wrote in a unanimous Court of Appeals panel, "but we are curtailed by the language of the statute from reaching any other conclusion."

"Technically," he added, "any time a person engages in sexual penetration in an adulterous relationship, he or she is guilty of CSC I," the most serious sexual assault charge in the state's criminal code.

Michigan still lists adultery as a felony, although no one has been convicted of the offense since 1971. Nobody really expects prosecutors to go after cheating spouses. But the ruling has the local legal community twittering about its genuine intended target.
One theory floating around the courthouse is that the judges were taking a jab at the state Supreme Court, which has decreed that judges must interpret statutory language adopted by the Legislature literally, whatever the consequences.

Many other states allow judges to reject a literal interpretation if they believe it would lead to an absurd result. Judge Murphy wrote that he encouraged "the Legislature to take a second look at the statutory language if they are troubled by our ruling."

A spokesman for the attoney general, who publicly admitted to adultery in November, declined to say whether they would press for legislative amendments to make it clear that only violent felonies involving an unwilling victim could trigger a first-degree CSC charge.

"This is so bizarre that it doesn't even merit a response," Rusty Hill said.
The appeals court decision involved a man convicted of trading prescription painkillers for sex.
In an attempt to increase his jail time, prosecutors used an obscure provision of the state's criminal law to charge him with criminal sexual conduct, which occurs whenever "sexual penetration occurs under circumstances involving the commission of any other felony."

Source of the Article: Yahoo News. 20.12.07

The Softer Side of the Dictator

2007-01-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

Nurse tells of 'gardener' Saddam

When Sgt Ellis left, Saddam Hussein said he would be his brother Saddam Hussein watered weeds in a jail garden and drank coffee while smoking cigars to keep his blood pressure down, a US army nurse who cared for him says.

In an interview with a US newspaper, Master Sgt Robert Ellis provided a rare glimpse into the last years of Saddam Hussein, who was executed on Saturday. Sgt Ellis looked after the former Iraqi leader - whom they called 'Victor' - in 2004 and 2005 at a camp near Baghdad.

The prisoner rarely complained during his time in captivity, he said. He added that he was under strict orders to do whatever neccessary to keep Saddam alive. "Saddam Hussein cannot die in US custody," he said a US colonel had told him.

'Coping skills'

Sgt Ellis, from St Louis, told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that Saddam Hussein was held in a six foot by eight foot (1.8m to 2.4m) cell with a cot, table, two plastic chairs and two wash basins. When he was allowed to go outside, Saddam Hussein saved bread scraps from his meals to feed to the birds, Sgt Ellis said.

The former leader also watered a patch of weeds. "He said he was a farmer when he was young and he never forgot where he came from," Sgt Ellis said.

He said Saddam Hussein never gave him trouble and complained little. "He had very good coping skills," Sgt Ellis said. Saddam talked about when he used to read bedtime stories to his young children and recalled giving his daughter medicine for an upset stomach.

His sons Uday and Qusay were killed by US troops in 2003. The former leader did not talk about dying and had no regrets about his regime, saying what he did was for Iraq. Sgt Ellis said Saddam Hussein once asked him why the US had invaded when "the laws in Iraq were fair and the weapons inspectors didn't find anything".

Sgt Ellis, 56, checked on Saddam Hussein - or Victor as he was referred to in military code - twice a day. "I posed no threat. In fact, I was there to help him, and he respected that," Sgt Ellis said.

When the nurse had to leave because his brother was dying, Saddam Hussein hugged him and said he would be his brother.

The former president, 69, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on 5 November over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s.

Taken from BBC Online 1.01.07

Hello Folks! Season's Greetings!

2006-12-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

An Eye for an Eye...leaves both blind

2006-07-27T01:07:00.000-07:00

It is sad. Terrible. A supposedly western styled democracy that behaves like a third world tyrant. Attacking a defenseless nation and reducing it to rubble. Having at its disposal one of the word's finest and most renowned secret service, some of the world’s best military observation satellites capable of spotting an object smaller than a meter right from space - and yet failing to distinguish between a defense post and a 14-storey apartment building, between an enemy gathering and a 40-year old United Nations landmark building, between Kalashnikov branding gangs and white flagged feeing vehicles...

I am angry as I do not expect that a nation of such brave and highly educated people, that have contributed to our civilization two main religions - leaving deep mark in our vision of life, the arts and culture - can be directed by such a weak government. A weak prime minister so much determined to live up to the image of his predecessor that has become blinded by his ambition to establish an image of might.

I see little difference between Iranian president's threat to make Israel disappear from the map and the Israeli prime minister's action in Lebanon.

I see little difference between state sanctioned terrorism and other terrorism. Killing, maiming, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure remains bad irrespective of who orchestrates it being a regular army or a group of armed so called resistant fighters.

Innocent war spilled blood leaves lasting scars in peoples' psyche. Retaliation is bad but bound to happen, bringing forth the cycle of violence that have characterized the Middle East since Abraham's times.

As a citizen of a tiny state I am appalled at what can happen to vulnerable people, in defenseless countries, especially when the only super power of this world does little to convince me that it will take the side of the vulnerable.

Israelis are victims too, but being the wise people I believe they are they could handle their clear and present threats in a more intelligent and humane way. Moreover, they should seek the root of the problem, giving the Palestinians the deserved and rightful control over their age-old territories.

Ray de Bono, Dmax Malta.

Abortion. Bitter Pill to Swallow as Malta slowly walks out of its Medieval Cavern...

2006-07-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

It is sad that Malta, a supposedly Christian haven is so stubborn at accepting that democracy means pluralism of ideas, opinion and, yes, even of religious believes.

In other European countries pluralism of religions means also divergence in what one may define as 'conscience' and what dictates one's dogmas, the 'do's' and 'don'ts' in life.

If a Maltese lady walks in a Teheran avenue in a mini skirt, she may be arrested for improper attire. A Muslim lady with her zealous outfit covering her face and entire body may be looked upon in Malta with curiosity, if not ridicule.

It shows that when it comes to multicultural comprehension and respect, though us Maltese can rank high amongst those who are quick to patronize others on how they ought to behave, talk, protest, live their lives, respect their women, etc. we have still a long way to go to set our own record straight.

No wonder this week's announcement that a Spanish doctor will be offering 'free abortions' to Maltese ladies (read more: http://www.maltastar.com/pages/msfullart.asp?an=4559) came as a shock to most.

But being part of the European Union means growing up, not just brandishing our democratic 'free world' credentials to suit only our economic ambitions. Life is not just about money.

Life is also about other freedoms. Disputes related to freedom of conscience are nothing new in Malta. Throughout its recent history, from the arrival of the Knights of St. John in 1530 onwards, these islands have been programmed to accept just one vision in life: The Catholic one. Others were quite literally 'aborted' (no pun intended!).

Wrong or right, the Catholic vision of life is not the only vision in this globalized world. Having different perspectives to life and its basics does not necessarily make you a criminal. That is, of course, if whoever makes civil laws is not held at ransom by the moral or religious authorities of the country.

That might explain why divorce is still a no-go area to politicians in Malta, as they fear retribution from the 'all mighty' Catholic Church.

The Spanish doctor, who is free to talk the way he did all over Europe, may risk prison in Malta. Most would just say, 'bloody right' about that...And I am not surprised. We are the very people who send ship loads of clothes and food stuffs to people in distress to (face-less) Tsunami victims in Asia, but then make the life of hapless poor African boat people that are unfortunate enough to land on our shores harder by making them feel totally unwelcome. Charity begins at home, no?

Actually, in many respects, I sometimes think that the Knights never left these Islands...though they never would have bothered the ladies...or, wouldn’t they?
They were celibate, no?

Your opinions are welcome. Ray de Bono for Dmax Malta.

Catholic Revival?

2006-07-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

PRAISING A CATHOLIC DICTATOR. Was he what Europe Needs today?
General Franco: Catholic conqueror of communism

It's not often you hear a paean of praise to the Spanish fascist dictator General Franco these days. Even Catholic Church in Malta is said to have considered him a real hero as fighter of Communism, and it was not alone its support. One certainly doesn’t expect to hear such support in the European Parliament.

So members were shocked when Polish MEP Maciej Giertych got to his feet. He was speaking in one of those debates that seem rather pious and pointless, to mark the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish civil war - full of MEPs condemning a regime that is long dead and buried, already reviled by most.

Now Mr Giertych is not some marginal figure. He was a presidential candidate and his party is a coalition partner in the Polish government. His son doubles as deputy prime minister and education minister.

Franco guaranteed the maintenance of traditional values in Europe and we lack such statesmen today
Maciej Giertych MEP (Polish)

This is what Giertych senior said: "Thanks to the Spanish army and Franco the communist attack on Catholic Spain was thwarted. The presence of such people in European politics as Franco guaranteed the maintenance of traditional values in Europe and we lack such statesmen today. Christian Europe is losing against atheistic socialists today and this has to change."

He says today's assumptions are "historical revision". How do you think the history of Europe would have been different if the elected socialist government and their communist allies had won in Spain?

Coincidentally, besides the Catholic Church, Nazi Germany was a material supporter of Franco's fight against the Communists contributing in terms of military training, equipment, and political pressure in the 1930’s.

Article adopted and modified by Dmax from: BBC Online

Hey Guys and Dolls!

2006-05-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

I thank all my readers, amongst them Uwe (from Germany), Keith, Josette(Gozo), Staphania, Anton, Daniela, Raymond, Fr. Ray, Katya, and the many anonymous others that occasionally drop me a comment on my blog here and there.

It's a weird period we are living through right now. Not bad, just a bit strange: Burning cars, disastrous euro concert results, barren political scenarios, lack of national role models, false anti-Da Vinci Code crusades, the absence of a real night life scenario...Well, the list is longer, but it's Sunday and I do not wish to bore you any further.

I came across this poem, written a year ago - that I felt like sharing with you. What is a poem worth if retained hidden saved as binary code (Bill Gate’s word doc)? Worst still, It was not even on 'my' pc, but saved on that of my brother's! Enjoy!

Ray

Feeling poetic. Though Christmas is far...

2006-05-08T00:43:00.000-07:00

No! It's not a Clash of Civilizations. It's a clash of...

2006-04-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Iran clergy angry over women fans
By Frances Harrison
BBC correspondent in Tehran

I cannot fathom a comment in reaction to this article. Incredible. Women rights - as seen from a Westerners' stand-point are apparently being trampled upon...Iran appears to be a country of contrasts, modern 'technology-wise' but seemingly medieval in human-rights' terms...

I understand that technology - most prominently the nuclear one - is the main issue that gives the Iranian authorities the feeling of a 'modern’ state. On top of the fact they have all the catches of a modern, independent and proud state, namely a modern army, large air force and top notch scientific research facilities. Iran surely has clout politically. But what about its citizen’s freedom of expression? What about Iran's human rights record?

There is at 'prima face' a cultural wall that separates the West from Iran. But is it fair to say there is incompatibility between the way these two people see life and its core values? The way they value the role of the family in society? the role of women?

Is it correct to say that there are grey areas in the way we perceive each other? Or are we being pretentious in assuming that we ought to impose on all what some might label as 'our libertarian' ways of life? Is there a common ground? Is it just a question of time (how long?) and both societies will one day reconnect - bridging their differences? Will it be a peaceful transition or a forced one? Can we destroy the suspicions that exist on both sides of the debate without building deeper rifts of hatred through wars?strong>

Ray de Bono, for Dmax Malta.

It is hoped the presence of families will improve stadium behaviour
Iran's religious right is voicing growing opposition to a decision to let women to watch football matches for the first time since the 1979 revolution.
Four grand ayatollahs and several MPs have protested against the move, saying it violates Islamic law for a woman to look at the body of a male stranger.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that stadiums would reserve special areas for women and families.

The move was welcomed by women's rights groups which long contested the ban.

Mr Ahmadinejad, who is regarded as an ultra conservative, lifted the male-spectators-only rule on Monday.

It was a highly populist move in a country where both sexes love football and there is growing excitement about the World Cup.

Bad language

Members of the clergy say it is wrong for men and women to look at each other's bodies, even if they have no intention of taking pleasure from it.

The president may find he has kicked an own goal
One MP said, if the reformists had tried this, there would have been suicide bombers protesting on the streets of Teheran.

A hardline newspaper said the atmosphere in football stadiums was now so deplorable one should weep - a reference to the bad language and rowdy behaviour of male football fans here.

It is this failure to control the male spectators that is often given as the main reason for not allowing women into football matches.

Women can watch football broadcast on Iranian television and they can attend basketball and volleyball matches even though they too involve men dressed in shorts.

Speaking on state-run television on Monday, Mr Ahmadinejad said he had ordered the head of Iran's Physical Education Committee to make sure women were adequately catered for during Iran's major sporting occasions.

"The presence of women and families in public places promotes chastity," he said.

"The best stands should be allocated to women and families in the stadiums in which national and important matches are being held."
Malta in the News. Europe. European affairs. The Mediterranean. Expressions from News around the World. The Arts. Culture. You are welcome to join in...

Malta Needs more Daphnes!

2006-04-20T05:57:00.000-07:00
Taken from The Malta Independent 20.04.06

I have to admit that more often than note this Maltese journalist is spot-on and presents situations that many other Maltese either lack the guts or are incapable to observe. Well Done Daphne! We need more like-minded ladies. Ray de Bono

"I am made more suspicious that the local councils are putting revenue collection before safety, law and order by their great excitement and delight at the huge amounts of money they are collecting through “speeding” fines and “speed” cameras. I use inverted commas because in no way can 47kph be defined as “speeding”, unless you are in an electric wheelchair race. Yet go through the St Julian’s tunnels at that “speed”, and two days later you will receive a notice telling you that you are being fined Lm30 by the St Julian’s local council. If the local councils had their priorities right, they would be concerned at the high revenue from fines, because this means that there is rather a lot of dangerous driving, which must reflect in a rather troublesome situation on our roads. If there is a safety reason for the imposition of the 45kph speed limit through the St Julian’s tunnels, then the authorities should be concerned that so many people have broken it, instead of clapping their hands with pleasure over the hundreds of thousands of liri the camera is bringing in, and how it has “paid for itself” within a short while. If there is no real safety requirement for the imposition of that ludicrous speed limit, then the camera is just a revenue-collection tool, and should be removed. There are speed cameras going up in all kinds of absurd places, and the suspicion lingers that the local councils think of them not as a safety measure, but as a revenue collection exercise.

In the light of this, I will confess to doing something rather naughty last year. When the St Julian’s local council inadvertently slipped my cheque for “speeding” fines among my various receipts for that same amount, and mailed it back to me – the clerks must have been particularly harassed that day – I didn’t return it with a note saying, “You gave this back to me by mistake, together with the receipts.” Instead, I laughed. I laughed long and hard and I ripped the cheque up. I laughed so much I almost cried. I laughed almost as much as I did when I was told that the “speed” cameras had caught a car going through the St Julian’s tunnels several times at 100kph with a rather vulgar sign concealing the number-plates. Suddenly, I felt vindicated for all those fines I had been obliged to pay against tickets that had come through the post, for offences committed in places where I could not possibly have been. It was enough to make me want to drive through the St Julian’s tunnels at 100kph with my number plates obscured by a sign saying “THANK YOU.” I’ve always thought that local councils were pointless gatherings of like-minded individuals. Now that they’re adopting the role of perverted Robin Hoods in our society, I dislike them even more. Perhaps it’s time we began to fine them for failing to maintain our roads, and for sticking a speed camera on to a bridge instead of repairing the bridge itself. Or perhaps we could try a little protest: men without tops and women in bikinis, driving away from the beach in a convoy of indecency."
Malta in the News. Europe. European affairs. The Mediterranean. Expressions from News around the World. The Arts. Culture. You are welcome to join in...

'Malta Democratic' my foot!

2006-04-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

'Malta, Germany, Austria and other nations opposed to EU funding of human embryonic stem cell research proposed an EU funding ban last month in Brussels at a meeting of the EU’s 25 national science ministers, raising concerns that the minority group could force nations to remove this funding from the newest budget, even for scientists in countries where the research is legal.'

Malta vetoes stem cell funding
Source: The Malta Independent

...................................................

Malta (and when I say 'Malta' I mean the authorities) is against abortion and is also against divorce - even for couples married outside the Catholic Church.

I am writing on my behalf, and wish to associate myself with no political entity, but I am of the opinion that us Maltese should have a more open minded approach on such matters. Catholics are free to abide with their teachings. Fair enough. But the same as Islamic Shari-a Law should not be forced on non Muslims where Islam is a major religion, I cannot see why Catholic faith by-laws should be forced upon non-believers, or made into national laws (if not enshrined into the constitution, as well!) that can be indiscriminately applied upon minorities acting upon their own conscience irrespective of their religious believes.

I know this sounds blasphemous in Malta's claustrophobic microcosm. I know that I risk being labelled a weirdo. I tolerate divergent opinions but beg for an open mind approach that does not ostracise variant schools of thought. Labelling differing people as sinful is one thing, but making their actions illegal thus prosecutable by law is another. . .

I am not seeking votes therefore I feel at liberty to talk freely. I believe Europe is about ideals, and freedom of expression is one of them!

Ray de Bono for dmaxmalta

Related Dmax publishings:
http://dmaxmalta.blogspot.com/2005/08/welcome-to-maltas-area-51.html
Malta in the News. Europe. European affairs. The Mediterranean. Expressions from News around the World. The Arts. Culture. You are welcome to join in...

I need a drink.

2006-03-23T09:17:00.000-08:00
Gadhafi to Take Part in Democracy Panel
By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN, Associated Press Writer
Yahoo! News

Is this a new form of democracy? a make believe situation where you make yourself believe your country is democratic and then pretend others to believe the same? Are we to believe Libya is a democratic country? Is Libya culturally and socio-economically ripe for democracy? Who is molding Libya's pathway to this political rethink? Is it Libyan popular demand, a dictators way of preserving his (and his family's) status quo? Or is this another scheme of the US agenda for sort-of pacifying the region? Ray de Bono

NEW YORK - In the latest step in Libya's international rehabilitation, longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi is taking on questions about democracy and academic freedom.

ADVERTISEMENT

A Columbia University conference billed as the first major meeting of American and Libyan academics and officials in 25 years climaxes Thursday with Gadhafi's participation via live video feed in a panel discussion on the prospect for the spread of democracy.

The dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, Lisa Anderson, was to moderate the panel discussion and put questions to Gadhafi, who came to power in a military coup in 1969. Although Libya is no longer viewed by the West as a rogue state on a par with North Korea and Iran, Gadhafi could face tough questions about riots last month that left 11 Libyans dead.

Libya was demonized for years by the United States as a sponsor of various terrorist groups as far-flung as the Irish Republican Army and Palestinian factions, and for trying to undermine pro-Western governments in Africa.

Libya was also blamed for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people, and a West Berlin disco bombing that killed two American soldiers in 1986. President Ronald Reagan ordered airstrikes on Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya 10 days after the disco bombing; Libya said the raids killed 41 people.

In 2003, Libya reached a $2.7 billion settlement with families of the victims of the Pan Am bombing, and the next year paid $170 million compensation to the families of the 170 victims of the 1989 bombing of a French UTA passenger jet.

Relations between Washington and Tripoli have improved since Libya's decision in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 to dismantle its clandestine nuclear weapons program under international inspection.

In June 2004, the United States opened a liaison office in Tripoli, 24 years after Washington closed its embassy in the oil-rich North African country.

But Libya's repressive one-party rule, Gadhafi's personality cult and spasms of violence could prompt tough questions from the Columbia academic audience.

It was widely reported that the Libyan riots last month were in reaction to the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that Muslims consider blasphemous.

Gadhafi told Italy's SkyTG24 Monday that more protests against Italian citizens and interests in Libya were "to be expected." He said the protests were not related to the cartoons, but in reaction to hard feelings over Italian rule of all or parts of Libya from 1911 to 1943.

The two-day Columbia conference was billed as an opportunity to "reintroduce Libya's academic community to the United States," and was co-sponsored by SIPA and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States and al- Fatah University and the Green Book Center in Libya. The Green Book is Gadhafi's guidebook of political philosophy.

Among the listed participants are Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch, former U.S. Ambassador Richard Murphy and al-Fatah University's associate professor of international relations, Youssef M. Giuma Sawani.

The State Department, in its latest worldwide survey of human rights practices, rated Libya "poor" but said it had shown some improvement. It said Libya had a large number of political prisoners, and severely limits freedom of speech and the press.

In a January op-ed piece in the International Herald Tribune, Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth said: "Still, Libya remains a closed and tightly controlled society. There is no independent press or civil society, and there are no political groups that are not officially sanctioned."

"On pain of imprisonment, Libyans are not allowed to criticize the government, its political system, or its leader," Roth said.
Malta in the News. Europe. European affairs. The Mediterranean. Expressions from News around the World. The Arts. Culture. You are welcome to join in...

An Ever Growing North-South Divide

2006-03-18T10:39:00.000-08:00
In Europe we have a growing population at our south, expanding by the hour in deprived socio-economic conditions, and in non-democratic political scenarios. Those who can within these populations seek greener pastures in Europe where they assume they can have a better life. And it is generally, but not always the case.

The US has similar issues at its southern borders with Mexico. Millions of Mexicans and Latin Americans live legally or not in the USA.

US cinema, with films such as The Day after Tomorrow' (2004), and more recently ‘Crash’ (2006), often portrays Latinos as occupying 'poor' jobs such as maids, plumbers, laborers, cleaners or taxi drivers. Such films portray a situation where Latinos have taken over roles traditionally occupied by Blacks. And numerically Latinos already outnumber blacks in the United States. Stories of abuse and political bias against Latinos are rife.

Stories of corruption, poltical unrest and poverty from most Latin American countries are also very common.

The next news report taken from Yahoo! News today is interesting as it opens up historic old wounds in the US: Mexico affairs...

It is equally enlightening for us Europeans as the issue of immigration is steadily becoming more pungent...And albeit different in many ways, the US situation shares many common characteristics with the situation over here...

Ray de Bono for Dmax Malta

Read on…

U.S. Canal Plan Sparks Outcry From Mexico

By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press Writer
Sat Mar 18, 1:24 AM ET

MEXICALI, Mexico - Despite its name, the All-American Canal has been leaking water to the Mexican side of the desert border for more than 60 years, nourishing alfalfa, onion and cotton crops that might otherwise wither. Now the U.S. government is preparing to line the earthen channel with concrete.

Mexican farmers' loss will be California's gain: Scarce water that will no longer be able to seep away instead will help flush toilets and water lawns more than 100 miles west in San Diego.

And that would affect thousands of families whose fields cover thousands of acres around Mexicali, an industrial city of 800,000 that is gobbling up farmland on its outskirts. Critics of the project say the lining would prevent the replenishment of about 100 rural wells they use.

Nazario Ortiz, who farms 100 acres about three miles inside Mexico, worries that his hardscrabble community will not survive.

"Everything comes from the canal, so everything is going to be ruined," said Ortiz, 46, who lives in a village where old pickup trucks and unleashed dogs share dirt roads. "How are people going to make a living?"

It will be hard, Ortiz says, to stop his sons — ages 22, 18 and 16 — from illegally crossing the border to join relatives in Los Angeles.

For many of its 82 miles, the canal's green waters trace the U.S.-Mexican border, running through sand dunes and verdant fields to California's Imperial Valley, where it is the lifeblood for 500,000 acres of U.S. farmland.

The project to line 23 miles of the canal is slated to begin this summer and be completed in 2008. Project managers expect that the refit canal will capture enough water for 135,000 new homes, mostly in San Diego and its suburbs.

The deal is not, however, ironclad. A group of Mexicali farmers and businesses has sued in federal court in Las Vegas to stop construction; a hearing is scheduled April 24.

Nearly 3,000 acres in Mexico depend entirely on the All-American, according to the Mexicali Economic Development Council. California also relies on water that the canal siphons from the Colorado River as one of the West's major water sources winds from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico.

For years, water consumption spurred by breakneck growth in Southern California prompted Western states to complain they were not getting their share. A water-redistribution deal in 2003 cleared the way for the lining project, which, at an estimated cost of $225 million, will ease some of the pinch California feels from being able to gulp less water from the Colorado.

Mexico already gets 489 billion gallons of Colorado River water each year. Supporters of the lining project say that that should suffice — that the canal's seepage is water Mexico is not entitled to get. The Mexican government estimates 90 percent of the canal's seepage ends up in Mexico, according to Enrique Villegas, environmental protection secretary for Mexico's Baja California state.

"We don't mind sharing, but enough is enough," said Stella Mendoza, who serves on the board of the Imperial Irrigation District, which oversees the canal and solicited construction bids last month.

Colorado River water first flowed to California's arid southeast in 1901 on the Alamo Canal, which dipped into Mexico. California farmers soon decided they needed a canal completely within the United States, leading to completion of the All-American in 1942.

Many Mexicans remember fishing on the Alamo in the 1970s. Now it's a bone-dry ditch — full of old tires, empty jugs, soda cans and carcasses of dogs, cats and cows — that winds around sleepy villages in the Mexicali Valley.

Farmers are not the only Mexicans fretting about the concrete casing. Opponents say lost seepage threatens about a dozen hidden lagoons in Mexicali enjoyed by outdoor enthusiasts and hunters.

Critics also say migrants may die crossing the 175-foot-wide canal because the concrete lining will deprive desperate swimmers of tall grasses to grab. Although the canal appears calm, migrants who cram onto inflatable rafts can be swept away by a fierce undercurrent.

Nine people died in the canal last year, down from 29 in 2001, according to the Imperial County coroner's office. The drop tracked a shift in border crossings to Arizona as the U.S. government heightened enforcement in California. The coroner's office says canal drownings could rise if California ever regains favor among illegal border crossers.

To prevent such deaths, crews will build ladders 750 feet apart on both sides of the concrete lining to give desperate swimmers something to grab.

While Mexican farmers protest the project most loudly, fearing that to recover lost water they'll have to dig deeper wells and pay higher electricity bills, there is surprising resistance in one California border town.

The City Council of Calexico, Calif., voted in January to oppose the project. The symbolic gesture echoed the opinion of some Imperial Valley farmers.

"I'm a farmer and those guys are farmers," said Tom Brundy, 49, who sends his four children to a private Catholic school in Mexicali. "I'd hate to have it happen to me."
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Thumbs up for Daphne!

2006-03-05T04:37:00.000-08:00
And again, I have to ask, why is the Minister for Home Affairs campaigning about foetuses that don’t even exist yet, when so many real, live children are suffering? How about a campaign to increase the penalty for those who have sex with five-year-old girls instead, with another 10 years slapped on for infecting them with VD? Well, as long as we put Christ on our euro coins and entrench the ban on abortion in the Constitution, we can boast that we are the most Christian people in Europe, even if some of us are having sex with kindergarten-age children, while the wheels of justice grind over the lives of troubled 16-year-old boys, leaving many of the hardened adult criminals unscathed.

Source: The Malta Independent - Sunday 5th March 2006
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"Ejja Nisimghu Qampiena Ohra..." (...Let us hear both sides of the story...)

2006-02-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

by Ray de Bono

When debating Arabs in Europe we often get just one side of the argument on regional press and media. The recent cartoon saga has added negative impetus to the rapidly falling avalanche of 'wrong assumptions' and 'negative stereotyped images' forming the concept of 'who the Arabs are', 'what they believe and not' and 'what they are up to'...etc.

For fairness sake, and in respect to Freedom of Expression, I decided to search for writings by Middle Eastern or Arabic professionals. I wanted to read alternative views...

I wanted to see what’s on the other side of the wall. Not just peep through it, but jump and walk to our fellows in North Africa...Reading their opinion columns and analysing their thoughts on the topic.

What I came across was both surprising and sometimes shocking: Muslims in Europe do not feel welcomed. Places like Denmark, France and the United Kingdom have become hot beds breading anti-Arab feelings that existed long before September 11th 2001.

No wonder Arabs are consistently portrayed as 'terrorists', 'threats to society' and 'undesirables'. It is hard to debate the issue just by reading articles, especially if these are written from one stand point. Harbouring opinions based on pre-conceived ideas can stir debates climaxing in increased misunderstandings, and with ignorance so rampant on multicultural affairs, on both sides of the argument, hatred can be a dangerous outcome.

Few people here in Europe recall the events in Bosnia during the 1990's, where thousands of Muslims where massacred whilst the EU just watched over and the pathetically weak UN stood on 'a pause'. News pundits in the west seem to suffer from selective amnesia and this hurts the average, well educated Arabs that contrary to what many here in Europe may think, do exist as a growing reality.

Europe adamantly (and justifiably) scorns anti-Semitism* and its propagation is tantamount to a crime; Just stating that the Holocaust ‘did not take place’ can end you up you in a prison cell...But talking bluntly against Arabs or ridiculing their traditions or culture is often implicitly tolerated.

The last 30 years (mainly characterised by the Israeli-Palestinian saga) have seen the Arabs and their many causes very often in the news. Negative portrayal of Arabs in the media has fuelled the understanding that being an Arab means necessarily an endorsement of a life of struggle, of supporting an ‘Intifada’ or ‘Jihad’. Not surprisingly, Arabs have become a popular subject of ridicule in everyday jokes; they are associated with bomb making, suicide missions and host of other sensationalisms and exagerations.

Once again ignorance about international world events and mostly the post second-world-war Middle East history brings forth many pathetic misunderstandings in Europe about what may very well be a number of 'objectively understandable' outcries by Arabs the world over.

A number of sociologists and media experts believe that the Danish cartoons may not be just a remote innocent occurence. Nazi Germany propagated similar cartoons (albeit in a definite explicit fashion) in the 1930's depicting Jews 'like mice or cockroaches infesting the German motherland'. These cartoons were instrumental in softening the German folks' psyche to what was to become their implicit if not completely 'naive' complicity in the greatest mass murder and nationally organised genocide in recent history.

In this light the Danish cartoons, which I perceived as 'innocent' at first glance, could have deep and long lasting effects on the growing rifts between liberal (or post Christian) Western European values on one side, and the numerically expanding Muslim population on the other.

It is scary. And both sides of the argument are evidently afraid. And as fear breads panic, it is imperative for leaders on both sides to seek common ground.

I would like to propose the following article that i came across on the Egyptian Journal, "The Middle East Times", written by Hesham Sabry who is a writer based in Ontario, Canada. It is an article that approaches the issues of "hypocrisy" in European tolerance and "multicultural rifts"...

Title: Viewpoint: European tolerance only a veneer

*The word "anti-Semitism" is inadequate. It is a misnomer. The word was coined in 1879 from the Greek words "anti", meaning "against" and "Semite", meaning a descendant of Shem. The word was first used by Wilhelm Marr a German agitator, who created it to explain the current anti-Jewish campaigns in Europe. Since the Arab peoples are also Semitic people it is not the best expression. Anti-Jewish, and Jew- hatred, are more descriptive. It is more than just prejudice. The word came into general use in the past hundred years and encompasses all forms of hostility manifested toward Jews throughout history.(Source: http://www.cdn-friends-icej.ca/antiholo/summanti.htm)

My aim in this blog is to create a healthy debate where both sides of this thorny argument can be discussed. I believe that it is just a drop in the ocean, but why not? The pen is mightier than the sword...No?

Read on...

Viewpoint: European tolerance only a veneer
February 15, 2006

-- "Denmark's reputation as a nation with a long tradition of tolerance toward others ... is something of a myth."

Those words were written in The New York Times on February 12 by Danish journalist Martin Burcharth, who continues:

"What foreigners have failed to recognize is that we Danes have grown increasingly xenophobic over the years. To my mind, the publication of the cartoons had little to do with generating a debate about self-censorship and freedom of expression. It can be seen only in the context of a climate of pervasive hostility toward anything Muslim in Denmark."

The reaction in Canada and the United States to the offensive Danish cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed has been a very civilized one. Newspapers have refrained from printing the cartoons and Muslim demonstrations have been peaceful. That's great, but the views of newspaper readers show a mixed response. Of the negative opinions, a few stand out accusing the Muslim world of being uncivilized, violent, barbaric and uncultured.

"Uncivilized, barbaric, uncultured." It was, after all, the "barbaric" Muslim world that massacred 6 million Jews! Six million people - a mind-boggling figure - deliberately rounded up for elimination. Not in some remote "barbaric" jungle, or by some terrorist group, but in the heart of "civilized" Europe by a "cultured" government right next door to where the present offensive cartoons originated. And that was barely 60 years ago, not 2000 - unbelievable as that is, and with the collaboration of numerous Europeans.

And the way it all started in the "cultured" Germany of operas, fine arts and fancy theaters was with gratuitous hate, much of it expressed in cartoons. 'Gratuitous', since Germans weren't under Jewish occupation, nor had they any other such justification for it.

Jews are forever agonizing over how they allowed what started out as expressions of hate, often in cartoons, to progress into 'The Holocaust'; why they didn't raise an uproar about what fellow Jews were undergoing. Now they're determined to never let it happen again. That's why a UN member state - Israel - sent its air force, not mere riots at embassies, to bomb another nation's - Iraq's - nuclear facilities to preclude another Holocaust.

Compared to such an extreme measure, in hindsight, if Jews had only persistently and intensely protested at German embassies back in the 1930s, that most horrendous of atrocities in human history might have been less severe, if not totally averted.

So, perhaps the reaction to the potential kernels of a new round of persecution against the latest targeted minority in Europe - Muslims - is not an overreaction. After all, it's not as if it's a far off fantasy.

Muslims have already suffered one genocide in Europe - as classified by the UN. Just over 10 years ago, again in the heart of Europe not in some remote jungle, some 8,000 Muslims were rounded up and massacred, Nazi-style, in Srebrenica, Bosnia. And that was only one of many massacres that they suffered at the time.

At the Nuremberg trials, a notorious publisher of anti-Semitic cartoons - Julius Streicher - was given the death sentence, even though he had not personally killed anyone. A white Belgian journalist and radio show host - Georges Ruggiu - who worked in Rwanda during its genocide, was given a 12-year jail sentence for hate incitement.

Hate incitement is the most dangerous weapon on earth, ahead of nuclear weapons. The Holocaust took 6 million innocent lives, and the Rwandan genocide almost 1 million, both by hate. And freedom of expression when abused transforms into such a weapon.

The government of Denmark has refused to condemn a blatant element of that new targeting of a minority group in Europe, despite four months of peaceful, civilized, Muslim pleading.

Muslims have every right, indeed, the obligation to nip this new wave of persecution in the bud so that someday they may not regret, like the Jews have, that they silently watched the evolution of the next cycle of human rights abuses in Europe.

When an editor in a mainstream newspaper finds it appropriate, and expects it to be acceptable to his readers, to so callously and crassly treat a minority within his nation, it is already obvious that this minority is being viewed as lesser human beings and is treated as such.

That, to the T, is how it all started in Germany. Dehumanize the targeted group to the point where the mainstream first accepts and then supports the hate, and following that they'll be indifferent to any mistreatment of the potential victims. And the rest is history.

But to be fair to the Danes, much of the above hate has been going on in other parts of mainland Europe as well. The touted tolerance is only a veneer.

Europeans speak of integration and the necessity of assimilation, but acculturation takes time. There's no pressurized acculturation cylinder into which you can pop people and presto, at the punch of a button they'll emerge fully Danish, German or Dutch. But that's precisely what Europeans expect and want. An instant Danish Muslim, and instant Dutch Muslim, and so on. And if the newcomers can't all transmute rapidly enough into full Danes or Dutch, then they deserve to be the targets of hate.

But then again, the Jews were fully integrated for generations, and even occupied various high level positions in government, and yet were still targeted for hate. So in reality, it's a matter of racism not integration, the very racism that every single European colonial power practiced right across the globe in the past. Obviously, it's still there (where would it have gone anyway) and can't wait to practice its old ways on the first minority group that again dares come its way.

There are over 10 million Muslims in Europe and when one of them - one person - murdered Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, the racism came out full blown against the 10 million, as if some people were just waiting for the opportunity to practice their intolerance and hate of Muslims even further.

As a matter of fact, when some two years earlier, the prominent anti-immigration Dutch politician Pin Fortuyn was murdered, the BBC reports that Dutch groups were ready to pounce on Muslims in Holland, and were disappointed when it turned out that a white Dutchman had committed the crime. Yet racists, shamelessly generalizing from a single incident - an obscene intellectual taboo - use that single murder to paint the whole 10 million European Muslims with the same brush!

The Danish government wasn't asked to censor free speech, simply to distance itself officially from such offensive material by unequivocally condemning it. It failed even that simple test of civility. But then, as the Danish reporter wrote, Danish tolerance is apparently a myth.

The question never was one of Muslims objecting to criticism. Muslims are criticized, often severely and unjustifiably - as in the name-calling discussed here, day in day out in the Western media, and yet we don't see protests across the Muslim world.

Muslim girls in France were forced to bare their hair at schools, and the most we saw were orderly protests in France, not riots across the Muslim world. Why, because people, even if angered by procedures that target them, can easily differentiate between objective criticism or government concerns, and gratuitous, uncalled for denigration of their most holy symbols.

Source: The Middle East Times, Egypt.
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Heard sad news from Spain today...

2006-02-11T00:48:00.000-08:00

by Ray de Bono

Catalonia is seeking separation from the rest of Spain. Full Separation. It wants Catalan (spoken by over 6 million people) to be its official language.

I am not sad seeing Catalonia taking control of its own region, as this its right, but I am concerned about the breakdown, fracturing of Spain. I know Yugoslavia historically differs, but the same fracturing is likely to mirror itself in the Iberian Peninsula. The Balkan states had bitter differences in terms of ethnicity and language, but how will the Spanish other regions take Catalonia’s sense of independence?

The level of autonomy granted to each region in Spain is far from uniform. Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia have special status with their own language and other rights. Andalusia, Navarre, Valencia and the Canaries in turn have more extensive powers than some other regions. Asturias and Aragon have taken steps to consolidate language rights. It is a complex and evolving picture.

As emotions run high in Madrid, with an army general asked to resign for mentioning a military option to save restoring the Spanish national geographical integrity, and political tension bubbling up one hopes no blood is shed in the process.

My concern is European Integration. The Anglo Saxon drive towards a looser Union of states where trade is fostered and economy boosted (all very good) is likely to perceive the emergency of regional autonomies, and micro states (like Malta) as good stumbling blocks in the road for European political integration encouraged by the Maastricht Treaty.

If the UK presidency of the EU during 2005 hammered an issue during its reign it was surely the issue of economic rather than political integration, sidelining France and Germany (that mostly favoured political unity, counter balancing the US) labelled as the Old Europe and hailing free market economies as the new future.

Where do us Maltese fit in, tiny as we are?

Maltese, unlike the Irish (who preferred English) or Luxembourgeois (who opted for French) or the Catalonians (who reluctantly retained Spanish, notwithstanding having a language that pre-dates Maltese), demanded and obtained recognition as an official EU language.

We had the support of, guess who? The British! They were firm supporters of the Maltese government, amongst some others, in our pursuit for official language status. Once again the British (unwittingly?) made Maltese a Trojan horse for their ulterior political motives. In the early 20th century the Brits supported the introduction of the local vernacular as the new national language. British advisors at the time even encouraged the Arabic alphabet for use in writing in this ‘new’ language in view of what they deemed were its identical roots of origins and use of a mainly common vocabulary.

They had it there way by supporting the emergence of an organised local pro-Maltese language academy. This academy appointed a local poet, a Catholic priest from a rural area who wrote mainly in Italian until then, to lead in its championing the cause.

Maltese served the British ulterior political motives, of ultimately securing the dominant place of the English language in Malta, and in encouraging the decline in long standing cultural and political influence from Italy and the Italian language. And who supported Italian up till that moment in Malta? It was the political classes in opposition, the Catholic establishment, the professional classes, leading clerics and the good chunk of the educated, city dwelling citizens, in other words, most people with a vote at the time.

Anyway. Its history now. English made political sense for adoption by the Maltese since the early part of the 20th century. Italian was passé anyway. Its political prowess crushed with the defeat of Mussolini. Its cultural and literary marvels traded for the economic leverage ensured by the second option, English.

English became the new lingua franca.

At that time the use of English aided trade with the rest of the enormous British Empire and saw the significant emergence of a local middle class, made up of traders, service employees, civil servants, and a host of British educated professionals (in contrast with the old established 'Italian' trained ones that formed the upper classes till the mid-20th century Malta). This was no mere change as in time it brought about the emergence of new political realities in this tiny island that would have lasting effects to this very day.

English, not Maltese won in the end.

Our politicians inspired less by their innate patriotism than their thirst for political gain traded Maltese as an official EU language for the benefits of using Malta’s other official language, English. Little have they studied the post EU membership feasibility of such a responsibility; The translation scenario, the lack of suitably trained human resources, the linguistic deficiencies in terms of many scientific or technical topics not inherent in Maltese, the lack of reliable internet resources on the language itself, to mention but a few all pose practical problems that exist. Such issues were never mentioned in pre-referendum speeches. We were more concerned about the cost of bread or a haircut and on whether hunters could survive with their traditional sport or not…

The European Dream. Is it Over?

It was always fascinating for me the notion of a single European state, currency and why not a common language too? The Babylonian model, where a multitude of languages rules is a monumentally flawed one. So why emulate it?

Europe can build on its strengths of diversity and combined economic might by building bridges where there are rifts in perception. Putting blind pride aside, how stronger could the EU be with one language as its main medium? Painful as it surely is for historically meaningful and rich languages such as French, Italian, Spanish or German, the option of a common language makes sense.

And strength is not measured solely in economic terms. With a stronger EU parliament, against a fractured multitude of states and increased members all pulling their own agendas us Europeans stand to gain more rights and benefits.
A common language means no neglect for regional or national languages. It merely helps creating a better working, less bureaucratic EU. And I believe the English language (not the current English political class) qualifies fully for this role.

I am not encouraged by the events in Spain. Nor am I encouraged by the passivity of many Maltese to the EU reality. And please, stop saying we joined Europe, as we did not! Malta was always in Europe and it would have stayed in even if it decided not to join the European Union (EU). We joined the EU, that’s a political multinational body for greater integration with those countries that have given up the sovereignty for a joint one amongst states sharing its history, culture and political ambitions, not just economics.

Even our mainline heated discussions over the EU issue prior to the referendum focused too much on economics and less on culture and politics.

Good morning Malta! Waking up to a new reality? I don’t know but as the more I read through most of the local newspapers the more I convince myself that we ought to replace our country’s name with ‘Lilliput’; The Euro or Ewro issue, the dreaded coin with the pathetic choice of images for selection…Enshrining abortion in the constitution…Mamma mia…scary staff…are these just a smoke screen? Is there another picture?

Ignorance is bliss….

And whilst the EU parliament debates the Boundaries of Free Speech and the future of an EU less dependent on crude oil, sending EU military observers in Congo, most Maltese radio discussion shows, newspaper letters and TV discussions were hotly debating whether tele-voting should be retained in next year’s Song for Europe Contest. A question of priorities, I suppose.

To be continued…
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Ok People. Should we burn the magazines which printed these cartoons!

2006-02-05T04:45:00.000-08:00

I have had enough! This was a phrase I uttered all week by many reasonable people in the media. OK. They came to Europe leaving their ravished towns and cities in the Middle East and North Africa. They came here to work. They have been welcomed. But now, for decency's sake, they have no right to break into our basic rights, limiting our freedom of expression. Let alone having fuelled the creation of fear and paranoia in many of our cities to levels seldom seen before in recent history. We are today subjected to go through quasi-full body searches prior boarding any plane for fear that some zealous believer might feel called to blow all up to pieces for whichever cause. We are afraid to board busses, trains and now even to speak up, to express ourselves... Remember Van Gogh the Dutch Film maker? Now it’s the Danish cartoonists' time to be punished for touching the Holy Grail, the sancti sanctorum, crossing the dreaded red line of one's expressions rights in Europe.

If they cannot fathom the difference between blasphemy and caricatures, between light hearted jokes and blatant aggression, between constructive criticism and blasphemy, then I suppose they can just pack and voluntarily leave. I surely don’t expect us to change so that their medieval thinking framework gets imposed on the rest of us.

I beg for common sense to prevail. I may understand a Christian Catholic like me to dislike showing my Pope in a bad light, especially if he happens to be old and frail...But surely we had no one in the Catholic Church attacking or threatening to kill the creators of the cartoons here presented on this personal blog. They are simply cartoons, caricatures. When Mehmet Ali Agca tried slaying the Pope in 1981 in Rome, no Christian group attacked Turkish embassies torching them to the ground. So why are Christians in Beirut being attacked? Why are Danes and Norwegians having their embassies burned down in Syria in revenge for a cartoon printed by a privately owned newspaper?

Wasn't an apology enough? ... Come on, let's grow up guys!

We are no longer free to be, really.

Ray de Bono for Dmax.tv
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Believe in Jesus?

2006-01-27T03:29:00.000-08:00

Imagine this Happening in Malta? No Comment...

Priest told to prove Jesus lived

Father Righi says it is not his fault if the atheist cannot see the light
An Italian court is to decide whether a priest should be called to face questioning over whether or not Jesus Christ actually existed.
A court in the town of Viterbo, north of Rome, is considering a case brought by Luigi Cascioli, a devoted atheist.

Mr Cascioli sued Father Righi in 2002 after the priest attacked him in print for casting doubt over the legitimacy of the Christian gospels.

The atheist contends that Christianity relies on purely anecdotal evidence.

Lawyers for the priest and Mr Cascioli appeared before the judge on Friday to learn whether or not the case should be thrown out, the AP news agency reported.

"The point is not to establish whether Jesus existed or not, but if there is a question of possible fraud," Mr Cascioli's lawyer, Mauro Fonzo, told reporters.

Mr Cascioli, 76, was once a trainee priest, but drifted away from the Church and has spent much of his life as a committed atheist and anti-religion campaigner.

Documentary dispute

"This complaint does not wish to contest the freedom of Christians to profess their faith," he writes on his website.

Nevertheless, Mr Cascioli says he hopes to use the case "to denounce the abuse that the Catholic Church commits by profiting from its prestige to present historical facts as if they are real when they are only inventions".

He has written extensively on the subject, and his book, The Fable of Christ, provoked Father Righi into a public critique in a church newsletter in 2002.

The priest has countered that millions around the world have long believed in the evidence of the Gospels as well as thousands of other religious and secular writings.

"If Casciolo does not see the sun in the sky at midday, he cannot sue me because I see it and he does not%2
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Hijack of AIR MALTA flight to Germany

2006-01-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

Many would have forgotten about this story, but the man who shot the pope (Ali Agca) is today a free man...and has just been reported 'missing' in Turkey (today: 14.01.06)...what a coincidence.... Ray de Bono, Dmaxmalta

Hijack of Maltese airliner to Germany ends safely...
Terrorists demanded freedom for Turk who shot pope
June 9, 1997

Read on...

COLOGNE, Germany (CNN) -- The hijack of an Air Malta airliner ended peacefully on Monday when two men demanding freedom for the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 gave themselves up at the airport in Cologne, Germany.

The Boeing 737, originally bound for Istanbul, Turkey, had 90 people aboard. None of the hostages was harmed, police said.

The hijackers had said they had a bomb and demanded the release of Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca, who is serving a life sentence in Italy after trying to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981.

Three hours after landing, the men left the plane with their hands in the air, police spokesman Werner Schmidt said. He said police found no explosives on the aircraft.

The airliner had landed at the busy Cologne-Bonn airport 15 km (10 miles) south of the city of Cologne.

Schmidt was unable to say why they had diverted the plane to Germany some 20 minutes after leaving Malta, or whether they had in fact been armed.

German police quickly established contact with one of the men through a Turkish-speaking interpreter, and the hostage taking ended about three hours later.

'They gave themselves up'

"They gave themselves up after successful negotiations. All the hostages have been released and were unharmed and in good health," Schmidt told reporters at the airport.

Schmidt said a total of 90 people had been on the flight, including five crew and the two hijackers. The 83 passengers comprised 17 Turks, 32 Libyans, 32 Maltese, one Russian and one U.S. citizen. They were due to fly to Istanbul later on Monday.

The hijackers had let five people leave the plane earlier, one of them a woman with heart problems.

Maltese Prime Minister Afred Sant told parliament in Valletta that the men had shown passengers what looked like sticks of dynamite, but it was not clear yet whether they were genuine.

Mystery still surrounds assassination attempt
Agca, whom the hijackers wanted released, shot the pope in the hand and abdomen as he rode in an open jeep before thousands at his general audience in St. Peter's Square in Rome in 1981. Emergency surgery saved his life.

On Saturday, in an emotional address during a visit to his homeland, the Pope had recalled the assassination attempt, which remains shrouded in mystery.

At a trial in 1986, Italian prosecutors failed to prove their contention that the Bulgarian secret services had hired Agca on behalf of the Soviet Union in order to snuff out the Pope's support for the Solidarity union in his homeland.

At the time, Solidarity, supported by the Roman Catholic Church was threatening the stability of the Soviet bloc.

The hijacking was the first involving an Air Malta aircraft and the first of a flight originating in Malta.

Sant announced an inquiry into security for the flight, and Malta sent a magistrate to Germany to join investigations.

Source: CNN.Com
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From Patriotism to Common Sense

2006-01-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

No Comment...

The fall and fall of English in Malta
by Lino Bugeja
The Times of Malta of Thursday, January 12, 2006

The fall and fall of English in Malta
Lino Bugeja

About a decade ago I made a solemn vow that I would never write again about the state of the English language in the Maltese islands... and from time to time I feel compelled to break this holy pledge and reiterate my views on the subject.

This change of heart has been prompted by the recent spate of letters in The Times which may somehow put the brakes on the teaching of English in order to reserve more time for the Maltese language. And this at a time when this universal language is growing bigger everyday thanks to the internet and the hard fact that the internet (of which a I am a novice) is overwhelmingly an English language medium, an estimated 85 per cent of its pages being in English. The language has conquered the net and presently e-English rules the waves.

Undoubtedly, this contribution will open a Pandora's box. The forces of blind nationalism will unleash their missiles with unabated fury. But even at the risk of being pilloried as an anachronistic anglophile, I am prepared to stick my neck out on the national chopping block in order to expose a glaring hypocrisy of double standards or, at best, misplaced nationalism in our educational institutions.

Recently a group of intellectuals, most of them well-placed and highly privileged in Maltese society, has been consistently pontificating to the nation's children, other than their own, on the importance of our native language as a means of national identity. Imperceptibly, these academics, in their nationalistic zeal, are trying to wean the less privileged children mainly in state schools away from the Language of the Oracle while for their offspring an English-speaking environment is taken for granted. Cocooned in the full knowledge of a lucrative future, these academics can afford to live in proud cuckoo-land while lesser mortals have to toil incessantly in a labour market where the English language is of the essence.

Let me honestly state from the outset that my impassioned plea for an improvement in the standard of English does not stem from any nostalgic harking to colonial days but mainly from a genuine realisation of the importance of English as a vehicle of economic, technical, cultural and educational import. It is the degree of necessity that gives meaning to the term "English as a second language" in contrast to the more leisurely approach to "English as a foreign language". In the local situation the English language is an absolute necessity, the gateway to knowledge, the way ahead in technology, in the economic aspect highlighted recently by a government minister when commenting on the Freeport stressing that "Malta has the edge over the Italians because of its English-speaking workforce". This statement epitomises the importance of English as a vehicle of economic growth.

This misguided campaign, deliberately intended to relegate the status of English in the state schools and in the ranks of the civil service, emanates not so much from a national outcry as from an unrealistic idealism resulting in a wide chasm in the standard of English between the majority of the Church/private schools and those run by the state. Suffice it to say that in the late 1980s a "diktat" by the Ministry of Education discouraged children from being exposed to English in the first three years of schooling.

Maltese is undoubtedly an integral part of our national heritage; it deserves special attention and should be given due recognition in all schools. The educational institutions of my generation in post-war Malta fostered in us a deep love for the Maltese language and literature. Many of us harboured genuine love for our mother tongue. However, a sense of balance, tempered by a sense of responsibility, was always paramount in my school days and the English language never lost its importance in the time-table. I have no quarrel with those who advocate the teaching of Maltese in our schools. What is unacceptable is its undue emphasis in the Junior Lyceum entrance exam, making the curriculum in state schools heavily biased in favour of the Maltese language. In countries where English is a second language there is more weighting in favour of English in selective examinations for secondary and tertiary education.

In this regard the predominance of English over the mother tongue is dictated by the fact that research possibilities in the vernacular are sadly very limited. Sadly, these selective exams drag along with them the entire minimum curriculum into a blind alley. Personally, I have seen timetables in the state primary sector where English was relegated to a period of 45 minutes in early afternoon.

Over the last few decades English has ceased to be the medium of instruction in most of the state secondary schools. The Maltese language was adopted in the mistaken belief that this approach is more conducive to a mature form of cultural identity. The preference of Maltese over English is very evident even at the university where more and more dissertations are submitted in Maltese even in areas where academic research has to be conducted in English. It is also not uncommon for students to ask lecturers to deliver their lecture in the vernacular even in subjects where the subject and terminology dictate otherwise.

Unlike pre-war days, post-independent Malta, a member of the European Union (where English has emerged as the most popular language for school children in all the member states), has no anglophile promoters in the political arena. It pays to play the national tune and pander to the pseudo-national fervour to downgrade the language of the ex-colonial masters. Regrettably, it is political dynamite for any politician to articulate, even discreetly, the absolute need of the English language, the language of international currency whose global power through the internet advances more ruthlessly than the British Empire ever could.

Mr Bugeja was a Commonwealth scholar and studied comparative education at Moray House College in Scotland.
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To hell with Neutrality!

2006-01-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

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New Year, New Threats

2006-01-10T00:36:00.000-08:00

IRAN SET TO RESUME NUCLEAR WORK

We all say that we love peace and refuse to accept war as sometimes an unavoidable solution to guarantee life on earth...But the events evolving in Iran are scary...And if the matter is not sorted out diplomatically (as we all hope it is) one can foresee a possible mayhem in this already turbulent region of the Middle East. Our sympathy goes to the millions of law abiding people that live in the area, but with the military intimidation and wild statements repeatedly being made by the Iranian President one is reasonably inclined to be concerned about what is happening next.

Many claim this Islamic Republic ought to be granted the 'right' to adopt nuclear power for peaceful purposes...Others insist Iran cannot be trusted in view of its historic links to terrorists...

We should keep our fingers crossed and as we worry about the infiltration of Avian Flu in Europe, the rising cost of oil and the growing tide of illegal migrants from Africa we ponder a bit about the emerging nuclear peril that engulfs us all as time goes by.

Ray de Bono for Dmaxmalta.

Iran has removed seals from a nuclear facility and will begin research there in the coming hours, the UN nuclear watchdog the IAEA has confirmed.
The move ends a two-year suspension of research, and could result in Tehran being referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

Germany on Monday described Iran's planned move as "very, very ominous".

Western countries fear Iran's nuclear programme could be used to make atomic bombs, but Tehran denies such a goal.

It says the project is for the peaceful production of energy only.

Talks between Iran and the EU trio of Germany, France and the UK broke off last August after Iran resumed uranium conversion activity which it had suspended in 2004.

The resumption of research on Tuesday at the Natanz site suggests all of Iran's nuclear activities, apart from uranium enrichment - a key stage in making a nuclear bomb - have been revived.

Main Source: BBC NEWS ONLINE
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Merry Christmas & the Very Best for 2006!

2005-12-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

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She is a True Hero!

2005-12-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

Amazon nun's killers are jailed

Landless peasants celebrated justice for Dorothy Stang ...

Two Brazilians have been found guilty of murdering a US-born Catholic nun and peasants' rights activist, and sentenced to long jail terms.
Sister Dorothy Stang campaigned on behalf of poor farmers against ranchers and big logging companies.

Rayfran das Neves Sales was found to have shot the 73-year-old nun six times on a muddy track in the rainforest.

He was sentenced to 27 years and his accomplice, Clodoaldo Carlos Batista, to 17 years in prison.

Prosecutors hope the convictions will open the way for three other men to be tried on charges of paying for and ordering the murder.

They are in custody and awaiting trial next year, accused of offering more than $20,000 (£11,000) to the gunmen.

'Defence of property'

The BBC's Tom Gibb in Sao Paulo says the case is being seen as a crucial test of Brazil's ability and willingness to clean up vigilante violence in the Amazon.

Disputes between peasants on one hand, and ranchers and loggers on the other, are often settled with violence.

Dorothy Stang spent decades defending Para's peasant farmers

More than 770 land activists have been killed in the last 30 years, but there have been fewer than 10 convictions in that time.

Illegal land-clearing is threatening the future of the world's largest rainforest.

Stang was killed on 12 February near the remote town of Anapu in Para state, notorious for corruption and land-related violence.

Some local landowners openly argued that Sister Dorothy's murder was in legitimate defence of property.

The court heard a video confession Sales gave to police in which he described shooting her, execution style, as she knelt reading her bible.

During the trial, he gave a different version, claiming the nun had reached into her bag and he shot her in self-defence, thinking she had a gun.

'Just the start'

Stang, born in Dayton, Ohio, had spent the last 30 years of her life living in the Amazon, helping poor settlers gain land and protect the environment.

"This is justice for Dorothy and the poor of the Amazon," said her brother David Stang, who had flown in from the US.

"We think it's just the beginning, but it's a great beginning," he said, referring to the trial still to come.

"They're going to think twice about threats and assassinations from now on," said Jose Amaro, a Catholic priest and land activist who worked closely with Stang.

A Senate commission concluded Stang's killing was part of a wider conspiracy, but critics say little has been done to pursue the others involved.

However, Senator Ana Julia Carepa, who headed the commission, vowed after the verdict: "This is the start; now we're going to get the masterminds."
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Is it Goodbye, Red Cross?

2005-12-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

In today’s world of political correctness phobia, the issue of trying not to offend others is reaching higher levels of paranoia...The latest being that concerning the symbol to use for the respected (non-religious) organization that for decades has risked its members in desolate, war or disaster zones around the globe to provide first aid to needy people of all colors or creed. Should they have just one internationally recognized acceptable icon as their logo? Should the logo vary from region to another? If 'yes', what should this icon be?

The argument is interesting, but definitely a thorny one...

Ray de Bono, for Dmaxmalta

Red Cross mulls 'neutral' emblem
By Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

Israel says it is ready to use the new symbol outside its borders

In Geneva diplomats from the 192 countries which have signed the Geneva conventions are meeting to discuss a third emblem for the international Red Cross.

Red Cross officials hope approval of a third emblem will finally put an end to decades of controversy over the issue.

At the moment, the only two emblems recognised under the Geneva conventions are the red cross and the red crescent; relief workers and ambulances bearing these symbols are protected under international law.

In war zones or disaster regions, they must be granted free access to people in need of help.

"We're actually trying to get a solution for the Red Cross, but some seem to want us to try to solve the entire Middle East conflict," says a Swiss diplomat

Over the years, a number of countries have applied to have their own distinctive emblems recognised, but all have been refused. Francois Bugnion, director of international law with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), believes too many emblems could compromise protection.

"Hundreds of emblems would mean they would not be recognised, and so they would not be respected", he explains.

"They would be identified with different countries, so instead of conveying the message 'this is an ambulance, this is neutral and must be respected', it would be a sign of identification which would run against the objective of the protective symbol."

Red Star of David

One country in particular, however, refuses to use either the red cross or the red crescent.

Israel's Magen David Adom Society (MDA) uses the unrecognised red star of David as its emblem. As a result, the society is still not a member of the international Red Cross movement, something which many Israelis see as unjust.

Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Itzhak Levanon, shares that opinion.

At present, only two emblems are officially recognised

"MDA is active all over the world," he points out. "In the tsunami, for example, or following earthquakes, we are often first on the scene, and we deserve to be part of the international movement."

The problem is, the star of David is primarily Israel's national symbol, rather than an emblem of humanitarian relief.

Arab states have made it clear they will never accept the red star being recognised under the Geneva Conventions.

At the same time, the conventions stipulate that national relief societies must use only recognised symbols outside their internationally accepted borders.

That means Israel should probably not be using the red star in the occupied territories.

Red Crystal

The wrangling over the issue has gone on for decades, and it is proving costly for the International Red Cross.

For the last five years, the American Red Cross has withheld its subscriptions to the international movement in protest at Israel's exclusion, creating a shortfall of over $30m.

The only solution seems to be a third emblem, and Red Cross officials have come up with a design they hope will please everyone.

To be known as the red crystal, it is a red diamond shape on a white background.

Israel has said it is ready to use it outside its borders, and, after some intense negotiations, the MDA and the Palestinian Red Crescent signed an agreement on working together in the occupied territories.

Syrian objections

On the surface then, everything looked promising for the approval of the new emblem.

Switzerland, as the repository state for the Geneva Conventions, sent out the invitations for the conference, and Swiss diplomats, who played a key role in getting the agreement between the MDA and the Palestinian Red Crescent, were initially very optimistic.

But there is one issue which might get in the way - many Arab countries already see the third emblem as an unnecessary accommodation of Israel.

Now that the MDA has agreed to work with the Palestinian Red Crescent in the occupied territories, some are suggesting that a similar agreement is necessary for the Golan heights.

Since this is also disputed territory, surely, they say, the Syrian Red Crescent should have a role there?

"The Syrian Red Crescent cannot operate there," insists Mr Levanon.

"We have no diplomatic relations with Syria, the issue is simply not in the debate. But I'm not excluding that some Arab countries will try to raise it, and if they do, the losers will be the Palestinians," he says.

'Honest endeavours'

In the last few days, Geneva, normally a tranquil city, has seen a flurry of diplomatic activity, as officials try to reach a last-minute agreement.

Masood Khan, as ambassador for Pakistan, is negotiating on behalf of the 56 countries belonging to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

"It's very complicated," Mr Khan says.

"All sides are making honest endeavours to reach agreement. We must create the right kind of environment where we have an understanding between the Israeli and Syrian national societies, because of the question of occupied Golan and whether the Syrian Red Crescent can operate there."

Frustration

For the Swiss, who have spent months working towards the conference, and whose foreign minister has made several trips to the Middle East and Israel in the last few weeks, this last-minute hitch is causing great anxiety.

"It's frustrating," said one diplomat who asked to remain anonymous.

"We're actually trying to get a solution for the Red Cross, but some seem to want us to try to solve the entire Middle East conflict."

Nevertheless, most diplomats agree that there is, if not consensus, then at least a majority in favour of the red crystal.

And some do also see the agreement between the MDA and the Palestinian Red Crescent as a small but hopeful step towards better relations in the Middle East.

And, if the red crystal is approved, it could have big implications for the Red Cross movement.

Any country wishing a more neutral emblem will be able to adopt it and it is thought a number of countries with mixed religious populations may do so in the long term.

That would mean that the world's best known humanitarian movement, whose original emblem was simply a reversal of the Swiss flag, would start to look rather different.

Source: BBC NEWS
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What did we fight for, Mr Bush?

2005-11-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

Abuse worse than under Saddam, says Iraqi leader

· Allawi in damning indictment of new regime
· Bush prepares way for US troop pull-out

Human rights abuses in Iraq are now as bad as they were under Saddam Hussein and are even in danger of eclipsing his record, according to the country's first Prime Minister after the fall of Saddam's regime.

'People are doing the same as [in] Saddam's time and worse,' Ayad Allawi told The Observer. 'It is an appropriate comparison. People are remembering the days of Saddam. These were the precise reasons that we fought Saddam and now we are seeing the same things.'

In a damning and wide-ranging indictment of Iraq's escalating human rights catastrophe, Allawi accused fellow Shias in the government of being responsible for death squads and secret torture centres. The brutality of elements in the new security forces rivals that of Saddam's secret police, he said.

Allawi, who was a strong ally of the US-led coalition forces and was prime minister until this April, made his remarks as further hints emerged yesterday that President George Bush is planning to withdraw up to 40,000 US troops from the country next year, when Iraqi forces will be capable of taking over.

Allawi's bleak assessment is likely to undermine any attempt to suggest that conditions in Iraq are markedly improving.

'We are hearing about secret police, secret bunkers where people are being interrogated,' he added. 'A lot of Iraqis are being tortured or killed in the course of interrogations. We are even witnessing Sharia courts based on Islamic law that are trying people and executing them.'

He said that immediate action was needed to dismantle militias that continue to operate with impunity. If nothing is done, 'the disease infecting [the Ministry of the Interior] will become contagious and spread to all ministries and structures of Iraq's government', he said.

In a chilling warning to the West over the danger of leaving behind a disintegrating Iraq, Allawi added: 'Iraq is the centrepiece of this region. If things go wrong, neither Europe nor the US will be safe.'

His uncompromising comments came on the eve of Saddam's latest court appearance on charges of crimes against humanity. They seem certain to fuel the growing sense of crisis over Iraq, both in the country itself and in the US, where political support for the occupation continues to plummet.

Allawi was selected to serve as prime minister of the first interim government, before last January's first national elections. Admired in both Downing Street and the White House as a non-sectarian politician committed to strong centralised government representing all Iraqis, Allawi's supporters struggled in last January's elections, where they were eclipsed by Shia religious parties, some of which have been implicated in the violence.

Recently, however, his reputation has enjoyed a resurgence as he has tried to build alliances with Sunni political groups ahead of next month's national elections.

His comments come as a blow to those hoping that Iraq was moving towards normalisation under the new government. In a speech on Wednesday, Bush is expected to hail the improved readiness of Iraqi troops, which he has identified as the key condition for withdrawing US forces.

But the proximity of the latest round of elections appears to have only intensified political murders and intimidations, including members of Allawi's own list, who have been killed and attacked by political rivals.

Despite denials of wrongdoing by the Ministry of the Interior, which has been implicated in much of the abuse, a series of damaging disclosures, including the discovery of a secret detention centre run by the ministry, has heaped embarrassment on the Iraqi government and its foreign supporters.

The intervention by one of Iraq's most prominent political figures promises to turn human rights abuses into a key election issue.

Allawi's scathing assessment of the collapse of human rights in Iraq under the country's first democratically elected government came amid an angry denunciation of the involvement of the Iraq government's institutions in widespread disappearances, torture and assassinations.

He added that he now had so little faith in the rule of law that he had instructed his own bodyguards to fire on any police car that attempted to approach his headquarters without prior notice, following the implication of police units in many of the abuses.

Allawi saved his strongest condemnation for the Ministry of the Interior, whose personnel have been accused of being behind much of the abuse: 'The Ministry of the Interior is at the heart of the matter. I am not blaming the minister [Bayan Jabr] himself, but the rank and file are behind the secret dungeons and some of the executions that are taking place.'

Responding to the former prime minister's comments, Sir Menzies Campbell, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman, said: 'It is inconceivable in the higher reaches of the command of the multinational forces that there was not an awareness of what is being done by some Iraqis to their own countrymen.

'The assertions by Mr Allawi simply underline the catastrophic failure to have a proper strategy in place for the post-war period in Iraq.'

Source: Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor
Sunday November 27, 2005
The Observer
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Women offered for Rape...

2005-11-22T02:00:00.000-08:00

Blood debt women offered up for rape
By Isambard Wilkinson in Sultanwala
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/22/wdebt22.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/11/22/ixworld.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dmax Comment

I wonder what the United Nations, The US, the EU and the British Commonwealth are doing to make Pakistan change into a democratic society...This week Senior Members of the Pakistani government (that for your info did not take their power through a normal election, but by means of a coup d'état) will be in Malta making nice speeches about human rights and world peace, bla, bla, bla...

Would the Maltese Government or the so-called Maltese European free press comment?

Ray de Bono

-------------------------------------------------------------------

A village council in Pakistan has decreed that five young women should be abducted, raped or killed for refusing to honour childhood "marriages".

The women, who are cousins, were married in absentia by a mullah in their Punjabi village to illiterate sons of their family's enemies in 1996, when they were aged from six to 13.

The marriages were part of a compensation agreement ordered by the village council and reached at gunpoint after the father of one of the girls shot dead a family rival.

The rival families have now called in their "debt", demanding the marriages to the village men are fulfilled.

The case is becoming a cause célèbre in Pakistan, pitting tribal mores against a group of modern-minded, educated women. Amna Niazi, the eldest of the five at 22, is taking a degree in English literature, while both her sisters want to attend university.

Their fathers are supporting them and have refused to hand them over, leading to a resumption of the blood feud, with two relatives shot recently and 20 people arrested, while promises of further retribution and murder abound.

In addition to the sentence on the women, the village council has sentenced to death Jehan Khan Niazi, the father of three of the women, and the fathers of the other two for failing to honour the supposed bond with men whose identities they are not even certain of.

The women have said they will commit suicide if their fathers obey the council.

Speaking at their home in Sultanwala, a remote cotton and sugar-cane growing village, Amna said: "It is a great injustice that should be ended. Why should we pay for a crime committed by someone else? We will commit suicide if it happens. We would be treated like animals by them. Our misery would never end as this is just another way of using us as tools in the feud." None of the women has so far been able to marry as their childhood "marriages" hang over them.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the "barbaric custom of vani", - the tradition of handing over women to resolve disputes - and called on President Pervez Musharraf to enforce a ban.

Last year a three-year-old girl near Multan was betrothed to a 60-year-old man in a similar settlement. The case led to parliament passing a law banning vani and honour killings, but it has been widely ignored.

The case of Mukhtar Mai, a Pakistani woman whom a village council ordered to be gang-raped for an alleged offence committed by her brother, has also reached international attention.

The Daily Telegraph was granted access to the young women, despite Mr Niazi's fear that the village will further condemn him for being "un-Islamic" by allowing his daughters to be photographed, albeit with their faces covered by veils.

Amna, who hopes to become an English lecturer, said: "We are proud of our father. Despite having little money, he has educated us and shown us that we must stand up in society and demand our rights."

She is studying at a college affiliated to the university of Lahore, while her sister Abida, 18, is applying to study medicine, and Sajida, 15, is still at secondary school.

The other girls, Assia, 20, and Fatima, 16, are the daughters of Mr Niazi's brothers.

"Only a few of my friends know about this," said Abida. "But those that do support us and say we are fighting for the oppressed women of Pakistan."

Mr Niazi, who is a government accountant, was candid about the cause of the feud. "My brother murdered one of our neighbours after being shot at. But it is complicated, they had already insulted us by making indecent remarks to our girls," he said.

He added that his family had already paid blood-money to the aggrieved party. "I have refused to give into the council's request as it is un-Islamic. I cannot hand over my girls like goats to marry these illiterate boys," he said.
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Its official: UK 'Retreats' from Iraq

2005-11-13T02:57:00.000-08:00

UK troops out of Iraq 'next year'

Dmax Editor Notes with Regret

I am concerned that this indirect announcement on behalf of the British through the Iraqi government is nothing but a likely smoke screen behind the UK's official retreat from the Iraqi front.

Why didn't the British announce it themselves, if their job was finished well? Are they trying to give the impression the Iraqis support such a retreat from an essential member of the US coalition thus acknowledging they are now ready to take over the country's administration?

Many agree that the Iraqi mission is a non finished job. The Iraqi troops are ill-trained, ill-equipped, lack morale and are reported to be infiltrated with Islamists and Jihadists ready to blow themselves at the right moment. The state of security for the average citizens in Baghdad, Basra and other parts of the country leaves much to be desired. Iraqi police get blown up many times daily so much so that it stopped being headline news.

But they are selling it as a ready job. They are portraying Iraq as free and democratic country since they had elections, and have a new consititution.

Is it?

Will the US announce a similar glorified retreat soon, too?

The bets are open for the number of days the Iraqi democratic government will last after the last western military official leaves this unfortunate country...

Ray de Bono

> The following article just releaced on bbcnews.com

Mr Talabani (Iraqi President) said an immediate withdrawal would be a "catastrophe"

British troops could leave Iraq by the end of next year, the country's president Jalal Talabani has predicted.

But he warned an immediate withdrawal of multinational forces rather than a gradual one would be a "catastrophe" for Iraq and would lead to civil war.

He told ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme Iraqis did not want foreign troops to remain indefinitely.

"Within one year....Iraqi troops will be ready to replace British forces in the south," he said.

There is not one Iraqi that wants that forever the troops remain in the country

Jalal Talabani
Iraq president

The head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson, told BBC 1's Sunday AM programme the timetable was "well within the range of what is realistically possible".

However he added: "What we are trying to achieve is a set of conditions at which point we have the confidence and more importantly the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people themselves have the confidence that they can now fully stand on their own feet - that there is no requirement to be supported by the coalition.

"And when those conditions come together then the time will be right."

The BBC News website's world affairs correspondent, Paul Reynolds, said: "The significance of what Mr Talabani has said is he has put a target date where nobody had dared to do so before.

"However this remains a hope not a policy. The policy is that the British troops will leave when the job is done and this is not changed."

'Main job over'

Mr Talabani was pressed on whether his prediction of UK troops leaving "at the end of 2006" amounted to a commitment.

The Kurdish leader said he had not been in negotiations and it was merely an "estimation of the situation".

"There is not one Iraqi that wants that forever the troops remain in the country," he added.

The Iraqi leader said he understood the British people were eager for their troops to return home.

He said: "British people have full right to ask this, their sons coming back home, especially if they finished their main job, which was the ending of dictatorship."

Mr Talabani called for a gradual pull-out, with close co-ordination between coalition nations and the Iraqi authorities.

Upsurge of violence

To support his stance, he issued a stark warning of a "catastrophe" in the event of an immediate withdrawal.

He said if his country descended into civil war, it could have harmful consequences for the whole Middle East region.

Mr Talabani said: "It would lead to a kind of civil war and... we will lose what we have done for liberating Iraq from worst kind of dictatorship.

"Instead of having a democratic, stable Iraq, we will have a civil war in Iraq, we will have troubles in Iraq [and they] will affect all the Middle East."

He acknowledged that an upsurge of violence could be expected in the run-up to National Assembly elections scheduled for 15 December.

However, he rejected suggestions insurgents would have an impact on the result.

He also denied there was a link between Britain's involvement in the Iraq war and the 7 July terror attacks in London.
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Look Who's Doing it Now!

2005-11-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

In Maltese we have a saying...'biex tiskongra trid tkun pur..." in other words, "only the pure can cast out demons'...

The US came out with a long list of reasons why Iraq was attacked, cos its harboring terrorists, financing them, creating them, cos its storing nuclear weapons, building long-range missiles, developing chemical arms, its leader killed his own people, disrespected human rights, bla, bla, bla...All bad but now we are seeing that on some counts the USA is not so 'pure' and righteous itself in its deeds... A shocking piece of news just released by Italian State TV 'RAI' explains why...

Points to Ponder

The Italians have historically been known as ambivalent allies...Recent history shows them first aligning themselves with Nazi Germany in World War Two till victory was within reach, only to shift sides after massive failures against superior Allied resistance...

Nowadays we are witnessing yet another colossal shift all'Italiana...The flamboyant Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had it his way pushing Italy as a joint-ally of the mainly US and UK attack to 'free' Iraq from Saddam (...noticed 'another' reason for the attack?) only to change his mind after his troops faced continous flak and ridicule in Iraq, and at home his party experiences a barash in parliament and a media onslought.

The Italians are once again making a classical U-Turn, in what many are describing as another 'lost battle' and are preparing for a well-timed and honorable pull out...Lets wait and see....

In this light we must analyze the timing of the revelations against the USA from none other than one of their own allies...Its the Italian media's way of creating a justified reason for a pathetic retreat (because I cannot describe it otherwise) that can be sold to the people at home, and to what they must perceive as the gullible world at large.

Please read on...

US 'uses Chemical incendiary arms' in Iraq

The US assault began exactly a year ago...

Italian state TV, Rai, has broadcast a documentary accusing the US military of using white phosphorus bombs against civilians in the Iraqi city of Falluja.
Rai says this amounts to the illegal use of chemical arms, though the bombs are considered incendiary devices.

Eyewitnesses and ex-US soldiers say the weapon was used in built-up areas in the insurgent-held city.

The US military denies this, but admits using white phosphorus bombs in Iraq to illuminate battlefields.

Washington is not a signatory of an international treaty restricting the use of white phosphorus devices.

W H I T E P H O S P H O R U S (Basic Facts)

> Spontaneously flammable chemical used for battlefield illumination

> Contact with particles causes burning of skin and flesh

> Use of incendiary weapons prohibited for attacking civilians (Protocol III of Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons)

> Protocol III not signed by US

Transmission of the documentary comes a day after the arrival of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on a five-day official visit to Italy.

It also coincides with the first anniversary of the US-led assault on Falluja, which displaced most of the city's 300,000 population and left many of its buildings destroyed.

The documentary was shown on Rai's rolling news channel, with a warning that the some of the footage was disturbing.

The future of the 3,000-strong Italian peacekeeping contingent in Iraq is the subject of a political tug-of-war, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.

'Destroyed evidence'

The documentary begins with formerly classified footage of the Americans using napalm bombs during the Vietnam war.

It then shows a series of photographs from Falluja of corpses with the flesh burnt off but clothes still intact - which it says is consistent with the effects of white phosphorus on humans.

Jeff Englehart, described as a former US soldier who served in Falluja, tells of how he heard orders for white phosphorus to be deployed over military radio - and saw the results.

"Burned bodies, burned women, burned children; white phosphorus kills indiscriminately... When it makes contact with skin, then it's absolutely irreversible damage, burning flesh to the bone," he says.

Englehart interview

Last December, the US state department issued a denial of what it called "widespread myths" about the use of illegal weapons in Falluja.

"Phosphorus shells are not outlawed. US forces have used them very sparingly in Falluja, for illumination purposes. They were fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters," the US statement said.

However, the Rai film also alleges that Washington has systematically attempted to destroy filmed evidence of the alleged use of white phosphorus on civilians in Falluja.

Italian public opinion has been consistently against the war and the Rai documentary can only reinforce calls for a pullout of Italian soldiers as soon as possible, our correspondent says.

Both the Italian government and opposition leaders are talking about a phased withdrawal in 2006.

President Talabani and the US say the continued presence of multi-national forces in Iraq is essential.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4417024.stm
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Poverty Motivated Riots?

2005-11-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

French Muslims face job discrimination

I felt it was good to see what possibly could have been the real factors behind this mayhem in Paris. It is worrying considering the growing number of muslims in the EU that such events are taking place in this day and age. We need to identify the motivation of these riots, whether or not they are coming from a genuine desire by these people to integrate in French society, or if its part of a wider political or Islamist agenda....I question the cause behind the plight of these angry young men... Is it just poverty? Are they being used? Instigated?

Ray de Bono, obo The Dmax News Team

Days of rioting in the bleaker suburbs of Paris have highlighted discontent among many French youths of North African origin.

As part of a series on French Muslims, the BBC News website's Henri Astier looks at the issue of discrimination, a leading source of frustration in France's unemployment-riddled ghettos.

Sadek recently quit his job delivering groceries near Saint-Denis, just north of Paris. He was tired of climbing stairs with heavy bags.

Unemployment is high in estates which are home to many Muslims

Sadek, 31, has a secondary school education and aspires to something better. But he knows his options are limited: "With a name like mine, I can't have a sales job."

Telemarketing could be a possibility - his Arab roots safely hidden from view. Of course, he would have to work under an assumed name.

Sadek's story sums up the job prospects of the children and grandchildren of Muslim immigrants.

They may be French on paper - but they know that Ali and Rachid are much less likely to get ahead than Alain or Richard.

Racial discrimination is banned in France. But a quick look at the people working in any shop or office suggests the practice is widespread.

The impression is confirmed by official statistics.

Unemployment among people of French origin is 9.2%. Among those of foreign origin, the figure is 14% - even after adjusting for educational qualifications.

Closed doors

The pressure group SOS Racisme regularly highlights cases of employers discarding applicants with foreign names.

It says such discrimination is particularly rife in the retail and hospitality industries - but also for jobs involving no contact with the public.

"Some companies believe that to be responsible for marketing you must have roots in mainland France over several generations to understand the French consumer attitudes," according to a recent SOS Racisme report.

feel you will never make it because you are Arab
Journalist Nadir Dendoune

"Doors are closed when you are an Arab," says Yazid Sabeg, a businessman and writer.

For many young people, the first time they notice the closed door is when they try to go clubbing.

"The first time the guy at the entrance says: 'You're not coming in', you accept it," says Nadir Dendoune, a journalist from Saint-Denis.

"But after two or three times, you go home carrying a bag of hatred on your shoulders."

And when you can't find a job, Mr Dendoune adds, despondency turns to paranoia.

"Every rejection - even those that may not be racially motivated - undermines your self-confidence. You feel you will never make it because you are Arab."

Failed approach

France has countless bodies dedicated to helping immigrants - a High Council for Integration, a Directorate for Populations and Migrations, several regional commissions for the insertion of immigrants, and so on.

Samia Amara questions the need to "integrate" French Muslims

Despite this, France's integration policy has failed, the Court of Accounts, a government watchdog, concluded last year.

The situation could lead to "serious social and racial tensions", the court warned prophetically.

According to some, the concept of "integration" itself is flawed.

"People always talk of the need to 'integrate' Muslims. But the youths are French. Why should they need integrating?" asks Samia Amara, 23, a youth worker near Paris.

Mr Sabeg agrees that "integration" is just hot air. "What does it mean? Are some French people supposed to integrate and others to be integrated?"

Some politicians argue that France should admit this failure and try something new.

U N E M P L O Y M E N T W O E S

> 9.2% unemployment rate for people of French origin
> 14% unemployment for people of foreign origin (adjusted for education)
> 5% overall unemployment for university graduates
> 26.5% unemployment for "North African" university graduates
> Source: Insee

Manuel Valls, an MP and mayor of Evry, a town south of Paris where half the population have foreign roots, says France "cannot lecture Britain or the US" on immigration issues.

His country, he points out, has no black or Arab TV presenters, and all MPs from mainland France are white.

Mr Valls is a firm believer in "positive discrimination" - a very un-French concept that is beginning to gain acceptance.

The broad idea is extra help based on geographical and social - but not racial - criteria. Mr Valls points to an example of such action in his own constituency.

The Lycee Robert Doisneau is a secondary school surrounded by some of the country's worst housing estates, with unemployment in excess of 30%.

The Lycee Robert Doisneau offers students a shot at success
About 70% of pupils have foreign parents or grandparents.

Despite such a challenging intake, the school offers a way out of the ghetto.

"The students come here to study and to succeed," says head teacher Genevieve Piniau.

She has pioneered partnerships with elite schools, whose high-fliers groom local pupils to develop their aspirations.

The school also takes part in a scheme run by Paris' Political Sciences Institute, providing special access for students from deprived areas.

The result is 89% success in school leaving exams - well above the national average - and a record of success at university level for former students.

Distant dream

Of course, youths from poor suburbs need more than an education - they need jobs.

Efforts are being made to encourage employers to take them on. Unlike the failed legislative approach, the emphasis is now on voluntary pledges by employers.

Mr Sabeg is among the sponsors of a new "diversity charter" encouraging companies to "reflect the diversity of French society" by hiring qualified non-whites.

It remains to be seen how this will be implemented.

Mr Sabeg is looking across the Channel for inspiration, noting that the head of Vodafone, one of Europe's largest companies, is an Indian, Arun Sarin.

"When this happens here, we will know France has changed," he says.

Meanwhile in Saint-Denis, Sadek would settle for a temp job at the post office - but that remains a distant dream.

Article + Data taken from: bbcnews.com
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Islamic Riots Spreading in Paris

2005-11-02T01:40:00.000-08:00

Riots erupt in more Paris suburbs

French Interiors Minister,Nicolas Sarkozy has come under fire for his handling of the unrest...

Rioting has spread to more suburbs of Paris on a sixth night of unrest in the outskirts of the French capital.

At Aulnay-sous-Bois, cars were torched as gangs of youths hurled stones at police in riot gear, who responded by firing rubber bullets.

But the epicentre of the trouble, Clichy-sous-Bois, was said to be calm, with a heavy police presence.

The unrest was sparked by the death of two boys whom locals think were fleeing police, despite official denials.

Correspondents say anger has been fuelled by a tear gas canister hurled into the town's mosque on Sunday night, and arrests.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin called earlier for a return to calm, during a meeting with the families of the teenagers.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy joined the meeting, although the parents had refused to meet him a day earlier.

He has been criticised for his handling of the unrest.

"When an interior minister doesn't hesitate to use insulting terms, branding as 'rabble' communities which have the misfortune to be fragile... it is the image of the country that is tarnished," the opposition Socialist Party said in a statement.

Cars torched

Clichy had experienced five nights of confrontation between police and young people from the mainly immigrant communities in the north-eastern suburb.

On Tuesday night police said at least 60 vehicles had been torched across the poor Seine-Saint-Denis area to the north and north-east of Paris.

Police also reported sporadic incidents involving mobile groups of youths in Val-d'Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Hauts-de-Seine and Yvelines.

Four people were arrested for throwing stones at police in Bondy, where 14 cars were burned, the Associated Press reported officials as saying.

The authorities have denied rumours that policemen were chasing the two boys who were electrocuted on Thursday after entering an electricity sub-station.

Flowers now lie near the spot where Ziad, aged 17, and Banou, 15, died.

An official investigation into the boys' deaths is under way.
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Shape of things to Come...

2005-10-31T03:00:00.000-08:00

More violence rocks Paris suburb

Many immigrants (mostly Muslim) are living in squalid conditions in France. This is bad. Some of them are becoming increasingly edgy as their calls for help remain unheeded and are making their voice heard, in many ways...

Many cars have been gutted by fire during the riots ...Mosques surrounded by the police...

Violence has flared for a fourth night in a north-east Paris suburb, but not on the same scale as before.

Six policemen were injured and 11 people arrested in the latest confrontations between angry youths and police in Clichy-sous-Bois.

Police said one or more teargas canisters were hurled into a mosque from an unidentified source.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy is to meet the parents of two teenagers whose deaths sparked the riots.

Saturday saw hundreds of mourners pay homage to the teenagers by holding a peaceful procession in Clichy-sous-Bois, which has a large immigrant population.

The authorities denied rumours that policemen were chasing the two boys who were electrocuted on Thursday after entering an electricity sub-station.

Flowers now lie near the spot where Ziad, aged 17, and Banou, 15, died.

An official investigation into the boys' deaths is under way.

A third young man is seriously ill in hospital.

The BBC's Alasdair Sandford in Paris says many in the suburb do not believe the authorities' account that the two boys were not being chased by police.

Mr Sarkozy has promised to send special police units into difficult suburbs around France to stamp out violence.

But local people in Clichy accuse him of heightening the tensions with inflammatory language.

During Saturday's march in memory of the dead teenagers, there were calls for the government to tackle discrimination against immigrant communities such as theirs.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4392126.stm
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This is Serious

2005-10-27T03:42:00.000-07:00

America and the UK knew that Iran was pursuing Nuclear Power before they attacked Iraq. Their evidence was more than just Satellite Photos. Russia knew well enough about it, actually, it supplied the technology to Iran...

And yet, defying all logic, the US and the UK invaded Iraq, not Iran. Sure, it was an easier target, or, was it? ...

Iraq has no Weapons of Mass Destruction. What’s next, now?

Iranian President - Mr Ahmadinejad calls himself a friend of the people...His people, that is...

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was elected Iran's president in June 2005, was an obscure figure when he was appointed mayor of Tehran in the spring of 2003.

He was not much better known when he entered the presidential election campaign, although he had already made his mark as Tehran mayor for rolling back reforms.

Since his election he has taken a tough stand on a number of foreign policy matters, in line with his hardline background.

Revolutionary credentials

Mr Ahmadinejad was born in Garmsar, near Tehran, in 1956, the son of a blacksmith, and holds a PhD in traffic and transport from Tehran's University of Science and Technology, where he was a lecturer.

There has been confusion about his role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Several of the 52 Americans who were held hostage in the US embassy in the months after the revolution say they are certain Mr Ahmadinejad was among those who captured them.

Iran's nuclear policy has been a major foreign policy issue

He insists he was not there, and several known hostage-takers - now his strong political opponents - deny he was with them.

His website says he joined the Revolutionary Guards voluntarily after the revolution, and he is also reported to have served in covert operations during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

When he became mayor of Tehran, the former revolutionary guard curtailed many of the reforms put in place by the moderates who had run the city before him.

Iran's outgoing reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, barred Mr Ahmadinejad from attending cabinet meetings, a privilege normally accorded to mayors of the capital.

The mayor shut down fast-food restaurants and required male city employees to have beards and long sleeves.

And he took down an advertising campaign showing UK footballer David Beckham - the first Western celebrity used to promote a product in the country since the revolution.

Hardline approach

He reportedly spent no money on his presidential campaign - but he was backed by powerful conservatives who used their network of mosques to mobilise support for him.

He also had the support of a group of younger, second-generation revolutionaries known as the Abadgaran, or Developers, who are strong in the Iranian parliament, the Majlis.

His presidential campaign focused on poverty, social justice and the distribution of wealth inside Iran.

During his campaign, he also repeatedly defended his country's nuclear programme, which has worried the US and European Union.

Once in power, he made a defiant speech at the UN on the nuclear issue and refused to back down on Tehran's decision to resume uranium conversion. Nuclear negotiations with the EU are now stalled.

Mr Ahmadinejad also drew widespread criticism from the West when he told a conference in Tehran that the state of Israel should be "wiped off the map".

He has been cautious about re-establishing formal ties with the US, which were broken in 1979.

"America's unilateral move to sever ties with the Islamic Republic was aimed at destroying the Islamic revolution...

"America was free to sever its ties with Iran, but it remains Iran's decision to re-establish relations with America."

At home in Iran, Mr Ahmadinejad has a populist streak, calling his personal website Mardomyar, or the People's Friend.

He also has a reputation for living a simple life and campaigned against corruption.

From: BBC NEWS
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Are you a racist?

2005-10-24T05:30:00.000-07:00

Many of us in Malta would not have had the opportunity of listening to a radio show on BBC channel-4 last week. The show has caused some stir in the UK...

The following article (taken from The Obsverver) provides various highlights on this radio chat show. It touches many issues that interest us in Malta right now - giving us many points to ponder upon... Read on...

The spat between Joan Rivers and Darcus Howe illustrated just how hard it is to talk about race, writes Akin Ojumu
Sunday October 23, 2005
The Observer

Have you got something against black people? You probably wouldn't be reading this if you had. But if you are brave or foolish enough to admit your prejudices, you can expect to get clobbered for them. Quite right. But I felt some sympathy for Joan Rivers when she lost it with Darcus Howe on Radio 4 last week after he suggested she had a blind spot about race. He baited her; she responded: 'Don't you dare call me a racist.' It was riveting radio but it left me wondering why she was so upset.
Listening to their conversation again on the BBC's website a couple of days later, Rivers didn't sound like a racist and Howe didn't actually suggest that she was, although he came mischievously close. After 10 minutes of listening to Howe lecture about race relations, she was bored and wanted to move on. He didn't.

But the subtext of what was going on was depressing. To call someone a racist today is the worst thing imaginable, the ultimate affront to their sense of self. To suggest that they might have more in common with Alf Garnett than they would like to admit is an insult that few people - not least, I imagine, the liberal readers of this paper - are prepared to stomach. Which is a problem.

In Britain, racism is a part of life. I've been relatively lucky but as a teenager I was occasionally abused on the streets when I ventured outside the capital; as a young man I have been stopped and searched. I grew up in south London, close to where Stephen Lawrence was killed; I read about the death of Anthony Walker in Liverpool with the same revulsion.

Racism is everywhere but if we can't talk about race without some people fearing they might be called a racist, how do we find a way of addressing it? If we can't have a debate because people are scared of being called names, then free speech comes under attack.

For a veteran black rights campaigner and unashamed self-publicist such as Howe, the world is divided into oppressors and victims. If you are black you should always be on guard against a slur, or worse. I disagree. Race is no longer just a black or white issue; there are shades of opinion but these are lost if each time anyone making a questionable or questioning remark is called a racist.

Take black male criminality. If you read the papers regularly you cannot help but notice that young black men are associated with certain street crimes. This is partly a matter of reporting but it has become a difficult subject. Can you make this association without being a racist? Yes, but only if you acknowledge that we are only talking about a few offences, gun crimes for example, that are specifically linked to issues such as drugs and gangs. There are plenty of other serious crimes that blacks are not disproportionately involved in.

Education is another contentious issue. Many inner-city schools seem heavily segregated along racial lines, and parents naturally scramble to get their children into academically successful schools, which often have a higher proportion of white middle-class pupils. Good grades are important but parents also a fear their children mixing with 'rough' black boys and this too is behind the decision of some parents to seek schools for their children miles from where they live. I am not just talking about white parents. Black people, myself included, are quite capable of this prejudice. It may not be as powerful as white prejudice but it is still an issue.

Crime and education are always hot topics; race is a subtext that is consistently downplayed.

I despise the BNP but consider recent events in Burnley, Oldham and Bradford where racial tensions have run high. There is more going on there than racism and racial division. Social deprivation, alienation and the decline of traditional employment have all played a part. It is too easy to dismiss the locals as ignorant racists and not treat them as fellow citizens.

A book about the decline of the white working class (The Likes Of Us, by Michael Collins) argued that they had become the forgotten victims of multi-culturalism. He said that the liberal elite demonises the kind of people he grew up with around Elephant & Castle. I disagree but his argument struck a chord with many. There are passionate grievances held against contemporary Britain and we can't ignore them, even if some views seem unpalatable.

The front line for race relations in this country is in places such as Burnley and the neighbourhood Collins described in his book. It is no surprise that people there see things differently.

There are such powerful feelings of guilt about racism in this country that it has become hard to talk openly about racial issues. Race is such an obvious difference that it puts an extra pressure on how we deal with it. We can't hide from it so let's be as inoffensive as possible.

Over the past 50 years Britain has changed from a largely homogeneous population into a wonderfully diverse nation, but such rapid progress has left scars. To compensate for all the struggles endured by my parents' generation and the current one, we have decided that racism is society's greatest ill. Of all the isms, this is seen as the worst. Sexism, ageism, homophobia, Islamophobia certainly aren't tolerated in polite society but they don't carry the same stigma.

The result is that talking about race is too often like tiptoeing through a minefield. If I give the impression or suggest that someone's views about race are simplistic, their reaction is to act so shocked that I usually feel obliged go on the defensive. And that annoys me. Why can't I suggest that someone isn't as liberal as they would like to think without causing a scene?

Of course, one reason might be because I have touched a nerve, but I also believe that a lot of people are scared of being wrongly outed as a racist. Unlike Howe, I think there is a difference between being insensitive and being a racist.

Perhaps Rivers and Howe could have had an interesting discussion about all this last week. Or perhaps not. The meeting of two tireless provocateurs was always likely to end with a few punches being thrown. But there is a more measured debate to be had about how we relate to each other in a multi-cultural society. We need to be more honest and less judgmental.

It doesn't really matter what Joan Rivers thinks about blacks. I never thought she was that funny anyway. But it does matter when people like her feel that they cannot express themselves. I'm not talking about giving a free ride to real racists, but we should be wary of restricting opinions unless we have a proper reason.
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Dreaming of leaving Malta...

2005-10-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

Immigrant frustration for Malta
By Daniel Sandford
BBC News, Malta

Some reach the island of Malta by mistake, and feel trapped
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.

We took to the air in a helicopter to see the scale of the change. As we lifted off it immediately became obvious. Dotted around Malta International Airport are barracks that were abandoned by the British Army when it left.

Plea for help

The buildings are full of newly-arrived immigrants, their washing hanging from the windows. The grounds are packed with military tents housing more of the asylum-seekers. In the first 10 months of 2005, more than 1,500 have come from Africa.

The figures are small when compared to the large numbers arriving in other countries of the European Union, until you consider Malta's population.

Quote: You can't continue, you can't go back, and the Maltese don't want you here
Warsame Ali Garare
Somali migrant

The islands of Malta are small, but full. Almost 400,000 people live there, making it the third most densely-populated country on earth.

The increase of 1,500 is the equivalent of almost a quarter of a million arriving in the United Kingdom in 10 months. That is why the Maltese government is asking for help.

"This is a huge problem by any standards, and if the current influx of illegal immigrants is maintained next year, Malta will find itself in big difficulties and it cannot handle this situation an its own," Brigadier Carmel Vassallo, the head of the armed forces, told me.

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.

Mistake

We asked if we could look round the closed detention centres and were told that was not possible. When we approached the perimeter fence of one of them, we were angrily waved away. The conditions looked rudimentary, with a shortage of shelter and washing facilities.

For eyewitness accounts of the centres, we spoke to some detainees who had been released. Hundreds of Africans - Somalis, Liberians, Sudanese and others - are living in the community in Malta. They are the ones who have been given the right to remain on humanitarian grounds.

They are grateful for the help the Maltese have given them, but they say the conditions in the detention centres are very harsh.

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.

They have to claim asylum in Malta to avoid being sent home, and then they are stuck. Under EU rules, they have to stay in the country in which they first arrived.

"It's like a trap," said Warsame Ali Garare, a well-educated Somali in his 20s. "You can't continue, you can't go back, and the Maltese don't want you here. The dream is to leave Malta. Everybody wants to leave."

It is a kind of perverse reversal of the American immigrants'
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PROMOTIONAL INFORMATION

2005-10-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

To be or not to be Real

A Maltese Young Person in Brazil

Ray Bartolo is an avid reader of this blog. He is extremely articulate and we often exchange opinions - even though we may not be always in tandem on all issues...

I like the guy!

----------------------

To be a part of 6 participants on a TV Reality show was something that I always dreamt of doing. And when I have a dream I make it a point that the dream will come true, and actually it did. Liquorish is no Grande Fratello or L’Isola dei Famosi, nor it is ‘Xarabank’ or ‘Becky’. Its not a super mega popular programme on the Maltese National TV station, yet the feeling I had when I was chosen to take part in this reality show was something which is not easily described and I couldn’t resist not to accept.

Last July the adventure started. The dangerous forests of Brazil were our destinations. We had 13 flights in all, including 2 11hours flights. At start it was difficult for me to integrate with the other 6 participants. They all had someone they knew, except me. It was very difficult for me to build up a conversation with them. Some of them despised me, some of them thought that I am strange and that I like to complain. If this was a Grande Fratello, I would have been the first one to be chosen to eliminate. Anyway, as time rolled by I managed to infiltrate the group and ironically at the end all the participants chose me as the most person who managed to go along with all of them during the journey.

In Brazil lots of things happened. I got drunk, ate a worm, played with and HIV+ girl, climbed trees, touched snakes and crocodiles, swam with piranhas and crocodiles, jumped from 600-feet high mountain, experienced horse riding, canoeing and surfing, almost got bitten by a tarantula, slept in a hut in the middle of Amazon Forest, lived for a whole week on a boat, etc. My adventures were countless. This adventure turned out to be one of the best things ever happened to me in my whole life. Simply fascinating. Liquorish crew were simply great, Andrea, the presenter, is a very nice person, and the other 5 participants were really fun.

I am a person who is thrilled by frightening adventures. And this adventure was full of tension and frights, which made the adventure even more interesting for me. My very first fright was the departure by the plane from Germany to Brazil. A start to an 11-hour flight in the ocean. My latest fright was that I would end last in the Televoting. Unfortunately this is happening and its not one of those frights which I enjoy, definitely not. So please dial this number now 50043185, or send an SMS with Ray on it to 50616716, so that I won’t end up in the last place. Your help is highly appreciated.

My last few words is to say thanks to all those who gave me their support for my participation on this program, especially to my lovely girlfriend Katya who gave me the go ahead and encouraged me to go for this adventure. Thanks to all of you who have already voted for me and for all those of you who are prospective voters. So now, every Sunday at 6.50pm make your way in front of your TV, put the channel on TVM and I can assure you that you won’t switch the channel since Liquorish is one of the few TV Programmes ever made in Malta that shows a real reality show.

written be Ray Bartolo (published as it was presented)
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A Malta - Gozo Bridge: Is it Possible?

2005-10-13T05:02:00.000-07:00

Points to Ponder

Gozo Ferry Blues? Well, a bridge linking Malta to the tiny sister island of Gozo can be a solution...A cheaper one too considering it will save money on shipping costs, fuel, manning the ferry firm, etc. What do you think?

Just think about it: If you work in Malta all you need is drive to your destination...Irrespective of the season, weather or time of the day...If you incur an accident in Gozo, you don't need to be flown by helicopter...an ambulance can speed you to Malta in under 45 minutes...If you need to travel by plane, a trip to the airport can take place at any time you need...And if you are studying in Malta - well, you can go home everyday if it suits you better...

Our brothers across the Malta channel are finally building one...

Sicily bridge constructor named
Source: BBC

The bridge has been lauded and criticised in equal measure
Italy has chosen a winner for the 4.4bn euro ($5.3bn; £3bn) contract to build the world's longest suspension bridge that will link Sicily to the mainland.
A group led by Italian construction firm Impregilo will start work next year and is expected to finish by 2012.

Spanning the Messina Straits, the bridge will be almost 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) long and cut the two-hour journey time by ferry and train.

The controversial project has been on the drawing board since the 1960s.

Mixed views

One of the biggest construction projects ever undertaken in Europe, the bridge has split opinion in Italy.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has trumpeted the project as a vital driver of development in the south, which will finally make Italy one nation by linking Sicily to the mainland.

The size of the project also will underline Italy's engineering prowess, polishing its somewhat tarnished image as a struggling economy and European problem area.

For critics its is nothing more than a vote-winning white elephant that will waste billions of euros, and put further strain on Italy's already over-stretched state spending.

They also point to the dangers associated with building a bridge in an area that has been hit by earthquakes.

Big plans

Whatever the outcome, there is no doubting the project's ambition.

The bridge will carry a double six-lane highway and four tracks for a high-speed railway line.

The other members of the winning group include Japan's Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, Spain's Sacyr Vallehermoso and a number of smaller Italian companies.

Only one other group, led by Italy's Astaldi, was still in the running for the contract.

Impregilo shares were suspended following the announcement, while Astaldi's fell more than 3%.
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The Truth?! ...Whats that?

2005-10-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

What are we to believe? What are we to stand up for? Is truth a make-belief game that the powerful play on the weak? Are we all dumbo's bred to accept the news as biblical facts?
Ray

After all the hassle the Libyan accused of the Lockerbie bombimg may end up potentially a fre man...

Forensic mix-up casts fresh Lockerbie doubt

Tony Thompson
Sunday October 9, 2005
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1588101,00.html

Dramatic new evidence of forensic errors could see the man accused of planting the Lockerbie bomb win a new appeal against his conviction, The Observer has learned. Lawyers acting on behalf of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi are said to have uncovered anomalies suggesting vital evidence used to convict their client came from tests conducted months after the terror attack.
Pan-Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988, when about half a kilo of plastic explosive was detonated in a cargo hold, killing 270 people including 11 on the ground.

Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer and head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, was convicted in January 2001 and sentenced to 27 years in jail after a three-year joint investigation by the Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the FBI. His co-accused, al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was cleared.

Fingertip searches of the crash site found fragments of a Samsonite suitcase and parts of a Toshiba radio cassette player as well as several pieces of clothing covered in explosive residue. Investigators claimed both the suitcase and clothing were linked to Megrahi. To prove that the bomb was inside the case, investigators set off a series of explosions using an identical suitcase and contents to check how they would be damaged.

Megrahi's lawyers now believe material produced during these tests was mistakenly presented to the court as if it were the original suitcase. One source told The Observer: 'To say that the evidence recovered from the ground at Lockerbie and the material produced during the tests became mixed up would be something of an understatement. They became thoroughly confused.

'It casts serious doubts over the prosecution case because certain items that should have been destroyed if they were in the case containing the bomb are now known to have survived the blast.'

In one instance a charred Babygro was produced as evidence that it had been used to wrap the bomb. However, new evidence has emerged which suggests the garment was completely undamaged when it was found. Instead, a similar Babygro used during the explosive tests was presented to the court.

Megrahi has always denied involvement in the bombing and claims that he was set up so that Libya would take the blame. A key witness against him was the owner of a clothes shop in Malta where the items in the suitcase were allegedly bought. During the verdict, the judges admitted that the owner had failed to make a convincingly positive identification of Megrahi, but said: 'There are situations where a careful witness who will not commit himself beyond saying that there is a close resemblance can be regarded as more reliable and convincing in his identification than a witness who maintains that his identification is 100 per cent certain.'

Megrahi's case is now being examined by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and his legal team believe that the new evidence is strong enough for him to get a retrial.

The fresh doubts over the forensic evidence are being considered alongside recent claims by an anonymous former Scottish police chief who last month gave Megrahi's lawyers a sworn signed statement claiming that key evidence in the trial was fabricated. The officer said that he had expected Megrahi to be acquitted at the trial or on appeal, but came forward when this did not happen.

After the trial, legal observers from around the world, including senior United Nations officials, expressed disquiet about the verdict. Many believed the true suspects in the case were members of the Syrian-led Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC), a terror group backed by Iranian cash. Documents leaked from the US Defence Intelligence Agency two years after the Libyans were identified as the prime suspects still blamed the PFLP-GC.

Further tests are now set to be conducted to see how the mix-up happened.

Dr Jim Swire, who led the campaign for justice after losing his daughter, Flora, in the bombing, has also expressed doubts over Megrahi's guilt. 'I am aware there have been doubts about how some of the evidence ... came to be presented in court. It is in all our interests that areas of doubt are thoroughly examined.'

The Scottish criminal review is not expected to decide whether to refer Megrahi's case to the appeal court until next year at the earliest.
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Can Turkey ever by Ready?

2005-10-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

The European Union has started negotiations with Turkey...Opening the way for full membership...

No Comment.

Turkey sentences Armenian writer

Source: BBC NEWS 7.10/05

Journalists have raised concerns about aspects of the penal reforms
A journalist in Turkey has been found guilty of insulting Turkish identity and given a suspended six-month jail sentence by a court in Istanbul.
Hrant Dink, of Armenian-Turkish descent, wrote a newspaper column which he argued was aimed at improving relations between Turkey and Armenia.

The prosecution interpreted one part as an insult, but Mr Dink has said he will appeal against the ruling.

The verdict follows criminal code reforms as Turkey seeks to join the EU.

The reforms were intended to improve freedom of speech in Turkey.

The article written by Mr Dink addressed the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during Ottoman rule in 1917.

Armenians, supported by several countries, want Turkey to recognise the events as a genocide. Turkey rejects that description, saying the deaths occurred in a civil war in which many Turks were also killed.

Humiliation

A paragraph in the article calling on Armenians to symbolically reject "the adulterated part of their Turkish blood" was taken as offensive.

If I'm guilty of insulting a nation then it's a matter of honour not to live here

Hrant Dink

The judge ruled that Mr Dink's newspaper column implied that Turkish blood was dirty.

He is the editor of a bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper, Agos.

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford said the judge ordered a suspended sentence as it was Mr Dink's first offence.

But the nationalist lawyers who brought the case were disappointed.

"There was an obvious humiliation and result of this case should be at least two and a half years or three years criminal charge," one said.

"But I think that Turkish courts are under big pressure due to these European Union accession talks."

'No crime'

Mr Dink's lawyer Fethiye Cetin said the ruling showed how little had changed under Turkey's new criminal code, despite international and internal pressure.

"There was no crime here," she told the BBC. "We expected our client to get off."

Our correspondent says human rights lawyers believe his case shows there are still no-go areas for discussion here and the new laws leave substantial room for interpretation.

Mr Dink says he will appeal against the ruling. But if he cannot clear his name, he will leave the country.

"If I'm guilty of insulting a nation," he told the BBC, "then it's a matter of honour not to live here."
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Are you sure its just Austria?

2005-09-30T01:18:00.000-07:00

Austria sabotages Turkish EU talks
By David Rennie in Brussels
(Filed: 30/09/2005)Daily Telegraph, UK

Efforts to salvage one of the most ambitious and controversial projects in European Union history - the opening of talks to admit Turkey - ended in failure yesterday.

Turkish membership talks are due to begin on Monday. But Austria left the process deadlocked by sticking to demands that Turkey be offered something less than full membership.

A British-chaired meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels broke up after only an hour amid Austrian demands that the EU's formal invitation to Ankara be rewritten.

Austria's ambassador said the accession agreement should be stripped of a pledge that the goal of entry talks is EU accession for Turkey.

Austria also wanted the agreement rewritten to include a warning that even if Ankara meets all the EU's conditions, the bloc can still say no to full membership "if the Union is not in a position to absorb Turkey".

Such a half-invitation is unacceptable to Turkey, which has threatened to walk away if any new conditions are imposed.

The failed talks forced Britain, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, to call an emergency meeting of foreign ministers for Sunday night - less than 24 hours before the Turkish delegation was due to arrive.

One EU source charged that Austria, where 80 per cent of voters oppose Turkish entry, "wants to stick two fingers up to the Turks". Another EU official said Austria was isolated 24-to-one. "If you start accession negotiations, you can't suddenly move the goalposts."

Britain has made it a central strategic goal to anchor Turkey - a Muslim nation of 70 million - firmly in the West, inside Europe.

The Austrian chancellor, Wolfgang Schussel, said that Turkey should be offered a clear alternative to full membership.

Mr Schussel, whose fragile conservative coalition faces tricky provincial elections on Sunday, said he was only listening to public opinion. EU diplomats expressed deep cynicism, noting that he had personally endorsed the existing wording of Turkey's accession agreement, not once but twice, at successive summits of all 25 EU heads of state and government.

Vienna's case has been tarnished by Mr Schussel's transparent attempts to link Turkey's case to the EU membership hopes of Croatia, a close Austrian ally. Other EU nations this year blocked entry talks for Croatia until it co-operates fully with UN investigators hunting war criminals from the Yugoslav conflict.

Diplomats from several countries predicted that Mr Schussel would ultimately cave in. They said he was waiting for a fresh gesture from the EU towards Croatia, which he could use to sell a Turkish climbdown to his own electorate.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/30/weu30.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/09/30/ixnewstop.html
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Go Agead! Ha Ha! Laugh at yourselves!

2005-09-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Good Dogs that we are!
Licking the hand that feeds us is our middle name...

University students around the world are alert and ready to pounce on any political, social, artistic or religious issues of concern not just to their own direct interests, but those affecting others too.

From repressed societies such at China, Cuba and Korea to liberal democracies on our continent such as the Danes, the Swedes, the Italians and the Brits, students are seen massing in the streets sometimes marching against legions of armed police thugs in riot gear. From our parochial-narrow-minded-village-brain-box they defy logic, as more often than not they risk their lives to make a statement, to air their opinions on the war in Iraq, on gay rights, on freedom of expression, on economic or political reform in their country...

But not here in Malta. Our students have been doctored by years of pampering, political correctness, cultural potty training, religious spoon feeding, by years of 'mentally programmed omerta' that starts from before kindergarten...

You cannot bite the hand that feeds you, they say. The government is, after all, handing all local students financial incentives (stipends) to support their arduous intellectual development so that one day, they will provide our nation with an intelligentsia worthy of praise! Bla, bla, bla...

Hence, if not for that, how can one explain the almost absolute zero interest by local university students in current Maltese and regional affairs? Many could be heard expressing their enthusiastic, colorful opinions at wine bars or inside cafeterias. But that’s just about it. Few, if any at all, venture beyond their duo, trio or quartet of study mates to make their opinions heard to a wider audience.

Look at our newspapers. Ignore the Maltese ones as they are barely ever readable. The English papers are full of articles taken from international news and media organizations such as Reuters, Ansa and others that one can barely describe as 'yesterdays news' in today’s day and age. What’s left to read are local opinion pieces. That's all. Then yet again, aren’t all of these opinion writers (or arm chair critics) all over 30 or older?

Where is the younger generation? What are their opinions? Is it because they grew up in the relative peace and affluence of subsequent Nationalist governments that they are apparently so numb? So absent by their lack of recognizable expression on local media, if not on popular (pathetic) TV chat shows?

Why one rarely, if ever, comes across an article from a twenty year old student?

The Blue-Eyed Boys

Many narrow minded, head-deep-in-the-sand popular idiots might claim that as we live quite well in Malta, why causing any useless stir? Why creating a fuss about issues that effects just a hand full of individuals that are generally at the periphery of society, anyway. You will most certainly see these type of people flocking around one or the other major political parties, hoping it will one day score them a good point in the their career rat race.

The holier clan

Other mind-in-the-sky holier-than-the-pope exclusivists might express dismay at the very idea of placing such issues as homosexuality, women rights, xenophobia or multiculturalism on a more prominent protest agenda. People of this class would rather attempt to instigate a personal revolution, one that starts with ones self, a more spiritual approach...

No harm done in that, if you are a believer and even if not. But why stop there? Why hide one's opinion? Why not trying to do more...?

Lagging Behind, in almost everything...

What about all others, average, good meaning students? Are they all so caught up studying for their credit race (or re-sits)? Are they so deep into their research? If so, how come we have such a lack of significant intellectual achievement record when compared to other EU members, with one of the lowest rates of science and IT graduates in the whole continent... How come there is little or no talk on local research and development?

What about innovation in the fields on industry, construction, energy preservation, environmental control? Aren't we capable of developing our nation at a faster rate? Look at Israel. Its not an EU country and irrespective of their national internal plights one has to give them good credit for the wonders they made of their middle eastern nation. Their environment, their economy, and their innovative ideas stand out more than their renowned national pride. God Bless them!

Why blogging, anyway?

Will anyone please come back with comments? It’s very frustrating to see so little response if not from the comments I get from people living thousands of miles away - which I really appreciate.

I am considering stopping with my blog. It’s painful and useless...apparently...

What do YOU think?
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Crisps, bread, lipstick and soap help kill Apes!

2005-09-23T00:18:00.000-07:00

We are all culprits

Campaigners fear orang-utans could become extinct

Demand for crisps, bread, lipstick and soap could drive orang-utans to extinction, research suggests.

The UK alone imports nearly a million tonnes of palm oil a year for use in such products, but campaigners say plantations for it destroy rainforests.

Friends of the Earth and international ape conservation groups warn in a report that 90% of the animals' habitat in South East Asia has been wiped out.

Their research claims the apes could become extinct within 12 years.

Legal duty

The groups claim British supermarkets do not know where their palm oil is produced.

It is we who will have to explain to our children that the orang-utan became extinct because of corporate greed

Ian Redmond
Ape Alliance

They are calling on the government to give company directors a legal duty to minimise their environmental impacts.

Friends of the Earth palm oil campaigner Ed Matthew accused the government of "failing to clean up its own backyard".

He said: "Over 100 UK companies and every single British supermarket is helping fuel the obliteration of orang-utan habitat."

'Corporate greed'

The report, the Oil for Ape Scandal, said palm oil plantations have now become the primary cause of the orang-utans' decline in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Some experts estimated 5,000 orang-utans perished as a result every year.

The research claimed at least 84% of UK companies failed to take effective action to ensure they do not buy palm oil from destructive sources.

Ian Redmond, chairman of the Ape Alliance, said if the government failed to act, "it is we who will have to explain to our children that the orang-utan became extinct because of corporate greed and a lack of political will".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4273774.stm
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Quo Vadis Malta?

2005-09-22T02:29:00.000-07:00
(Dmax) No Comment...

Malta fears it will sink under growing tide of migrants from Africa
By David Rennie in Valletta
(Filed: 21/09/2005)

The holiday island of Malta is in the grip of an accidental tragedy: it is directly in the path of a growing and potentially vast flow of asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa to southern Europe.

Caught: exhausted boat people from Africa await their fate
Its proximity to Libya, 180 miles to the south, threatens the identity and culture of the islanders. Thousands of refugees have made the crossing in recent months.

Libya has said that there are 1.5 million sub-Saharan Africans on its territory and many have their sights set on Europe.

Many asylum seekers are fleeing persecution in Darfur and Somalia and unknown numbers drown as they cross the Mediterranean.

The invasion of Malta is accidental: the boats are heading for the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily, which offer direct access to the rest of Italy. But many of them run out of fuel or are hit by bad weather and seek a haven in Malta instead. Boats have reached the island almost every night this summer.

Under European Union law, asylum seekers must stay in the European country they first arrive in. Although Malta is no bigger than the Isle of Wight, it is a sovereign member of the EU, so anyone who lands is stuck there.

Malta joined the EU last year and is now sounding the alarm in the hope of receiving urgent assistance from the union. Government leaders and military chiefs told The Daily Telegraph that their island was being swamped.

Tonio Borg, the justice minister, said: "What was a problem has evolved into a crisis."

Five years ago Malta received only 24 illegal migrants. This year's total stands at more than 1,100 so far, with about 30 arrivals a night - the equivalent of 165,000 asylum seekers reaching Britain.

Some 4,000 asylum seekers have arrived since the crisis began in 2002. More than half are eventually granted refugee status or humanitarian leave to remain. Most of those refused asylum also stay on the island, in a limbo that is miserable for all involved. It is hard to prove where they are from; harder still to deport them to home countries that are sunk in anarchy.

Malta's tradition of hospitality is being slowly poisoned by the crisis. New hard-line nationalist groups are springing up, while politicians from the two mainstream parties talk of "putting national interests before human rights".

A recent opinion poll by the island's Sunday Times found that 90 per cent of the population would not want an Arab, African or Jewish neighbour. In Balzan, a pretty village that is home to a church-run centre for refugees, a trio of old women enjoying the cool of the evening complained of "filthy" incomers taking over their piazza. Joe Mallia, a pensioner, denounced "negroes taking our jobs".

Lawrence Gonzi, the prime minister, has urged the leaders of this pious, 95 per cent Roman Catholic island to moderate their language and remember the human beings involved.

He said: "I keep reminding everyone that this is a human crisis. We have to remain true to our values."

But his government is taking a hard line, too. Adult asylum seekers are locked up on arrival for up to 12 months in grim former army barracks, police camps or converted warehouses.

The Daily Telegraph was refused permission to visit any detention centres, but Fr Paul Pace, a Jesuit priest who works in the camps, described conditions as worse than in any Maltese prison.

Support for the European Union has dropped sharply among the population, to 40 per cent in the latest polls.

Dolores Cristina, the minister for the family, said: "So far, EU membership has been a hindrance."

Many unaccompanied minors in the boats had family in Milan or Rome, she said. "Malta would love to reunite them in Italy. Yet we are not allowed to do it because of EU directives. Before accession, there was a possibility for people to move on. We cannot live with this bottleneck here."

Ministers pin their hopes on "EU burden-sharing", a fervent hope that larger European states will volunteer to take in some of those granted asylum by Malta. But the reality is that the bottleneck in Malta is not a problem for other European governments. Taking in Malta's refugees is also not a likely vote-winner.

Franco Frattini, the EU justice commissioner, recently cautioned Maltese ministers in private not to expect to resettle large numbers of refugees in the rest of the EU. He told them that such an initiative could be counter-productive, merely attracting bigger numbers of illegal immigrants to the island.

Britain, Malta's former colonial ruler and close ally, has also sounded cool to the idea of taking in refugees, saying that the matter is "under consideration".

In the medium term, Malta hopes that the lever of EU aid can be used to put pressure on African nations to take back deported citizens.

But for Mr Gonzi the solution is longer-term still and far harder: the transformation of the African continent.

"We have to give people a reason to live in their own country," he said. "It is the only thing that will stop this migration."

Publishers wishing to reproduce photographs on this page should phone 44 (0) 207 538 7505 or e-mail syndication@telegraph.co.uk
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Pope John Paul's last words revealed by the Vatican

2005-09-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

John Paul's last words revealed

Most Christians look at the holy figure of Pope John Paul rightly as a saintly and deeply inspirational. But its not only Christians but people from all faiths respected this larger-than-life personality, then and even now that he passed away...

Us Maltese have been lucky to have him twice amongst us. Both occasions saw ecstatic crowds flocking the main roads and public places as he passed by or made his speeches...

Now the Vatican has made some interesting revelations that should further boost the former Pontiff's golden chances for fast-forward 'official' sainthood. Read on...

Pope John Paul II's last words before his death were "let me go to the house of the Father", according to documents released by the Vatican.
His words were spoken in his native Polish to aides hours before he died last April.

They are preserved in a new 220-page volume which chronicles the last two months of the late pontiff's life.

It is the first time the Vatican has published such a detailed account of any pope's final moments.

Parkinson's

Correspondents say the report is an unprecedented move, as the death of a pope has always been surrounded by secrecy.

The book is to go on sale shortly as a supplement to the Vatican's official journal, Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

It has entries in chronological order, starting in 31 January, the day the Holy See announced the pope's audiences were being suspended due to illness.

One entry on 24 February, says John Paul's convalescence was hampered by "very difficult swallowing", speech difficulties and "nutritional deficit and marked weakness".

Doctors have said some of those symptoms were consequences of the progression of Parkinson's disease, which the 84-year-old pontiff suffered from for years.

In the days leading up to his death, another entry describes the pope feeling a "sudden chill and violent shaking" during Mass. His temperature quickly rose to nearly 40C.

According to the Vatican account, the pope uttered his final words at 1530 on 2 April. "A little before 7pm, he went into a coma," it said.

"According to a Polish tradition, a small, lit candle illuminated the twilight of the room, where the Pope was expiring."

The Vatican announced John Paul's time of death as 2137.

Read more at www.bbcnews.com
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Travis Responds to Katrina Write-up

2005-09-09T03:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back Travis!

The following piece was passed on as a comment to this blog by Travis from Washington DC, USA.

The United States is a very complex culture that I'm not sure I can even explain. Here is my attempt to respond to your post.

To understand why the people you are seeing on news coverage of the devastated city are primarily black, it’s useful to examine the culture of that particular area of the United States. After the US Civil War in the 1800’s, slaves, who were located in the Southeast region of the country, were released and for the most part traveled to cities, as there was little land to purchase (and slaves had little money) or work available in rural areas (except for the work they had just been freed from). The white population of the region, who had lost the war over their right to own slaves, didn’t want the black workers around. Without going into too much detail, the government wasn’t able to quell much of the injustices suffered by the black population, until segregation and anti-discrimination laws are passed in the mid 1900’s. In the meantime, many blacks were forced to live in inner-city slums and continued to have limited access to good paying jobs because of deficiencies in needed skills and education. These problems continue today. The US Government, as well as state and local agencies, try to provide more opportunities to the poor, and have experienced some success. However, there is still much to be done to improve the situation.

Many here in the United States are also appalled at the response of our government in New Orleans. This is not representative of American culture or the way American’s treat those who are in dire need of help.

Below is an article that I came across that may give you insight into why things are the way they are in New Orleans. I don't agree with the negative theme of the article, but much of what it says about those individuals committing the crimes in the flooded city is probably accurate.
----------

An Unnatural Disaster: A Hurricane Exposes the Man-Made Disaster of the Welfare State

by Robert Tracinski
Sep 02, 2005
by Robert Tracinski
It has taken four long days for state and federal officials to figure out how to deal with the disaster in New Orleans. I can't blame them, because it has also taken me four long days to figure out what is going on there. The reason is that the events there make no sense if you think that we are confronting a natural disaster.

If this is just a natural disaster, the response for public officials is obvious: you bring in food, water, and doctors; you send transportation to evacuate refugees to temporary shelters; you send engineers to stop the flooding and rebuild the city's infrastructure. For journalists, natural disasters also have a familiar pattern: the heroism of ordinary people pulling together to survive; the hard work and dedication of doctors, nurses, and rescue workers; the steps being taken to clean up and rebuild.

Public officials did not expect that the first thing they would have to do is to send thousands of armed troops in armored vehicle, as if they are suppressing an enemy insurgency. And journalists--myself included--did not expect that the story would not be about rain, wind, and flooding, but about rape, murder, and looting.

But this is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster.

The man-made disaster is not an inadequate or incompetent response by federal relief agencies, and it was not directly caused by Hurricane Katrina. This is where just about every newspaper and television channel has gotten the story wrong.

The man-made disaster we are now witnessing in New Orleans did not happen over the past four days. It happened over the past four decades. Hurricane Katrina merely exposed it to public view.

The man-made disaster is the welfare state.

For the past few days, I have found the news from New Orleans to be confusing. People were not behaving as you would expect them to behave in an emergency--indeed, they were not behaving as they have behaved in other emergencies. That is what has shocked so many people: they have been saying that this is not what we expect from America. In fact, it is not even what we expect from a Third World country.

When confronted with a disaster, people usually rise to the occasion. They work together to rescue people in danger, and they spontaneously organize to keep order and solve problems. This is especially true in America. We are an enterprising people, used to relying on our own initiative rather than waiting around for the government to take care of us. I have seen this a hundred times, in small examples (a small town whose main traffic light had gone out, causing ordinary citizens to get out of their cars and serve as impromptu traffic cops, directing cars through the intersection) and large ones (the spontaneous response of New Yorkers to September 11).

So what explains the chaos in New Orleans?

To give you an idea of the magnitude of what is going on, here is a description from a Washington Times story:

"Storm victims are raped and beaten; fights erupt with flying fists, knives and guns; fires are breaking out; corpses litter the streets; and police and rescue helicopters are repeatedly fired on.

"The plea from Mayor C. Ray Nagin came even as National Guardsmen poured in to restore order and stop the looting, carjackings and gunfire....

"Last night, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said 300 Iraq-hardened Arkansas National Guard members were inside New Orleans with shoot-to-kill orders.

" 'These troops are...under my orders to restore order in the streets,' she said. 'They have M-16s, and they are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary and I expect they will.' "

The reference to Iraq is eerie. The photo that accompanies this article shows National Guard troops, with rifles and armored vests, riding on an armored vehicle through trash-strewn streets lined by a rabble of squalid, listless people, one of whom appears to be yelling at them. It looks exactly like a scene from Sadr City in Baghdad.

What explains bands of thugs using a natural disaster as an excuse for an orgy of looting, armed robbery, and rape? What causes unruly mobs to storm the very buses that have arrived to evacuate them, causing the drivers to drive away, frightened for their lives? What causes people to attack the doctors trying to treat patients at the Super Dome?

Why are people responding to natural destruction by causing further destruction? Why are they attacking the people who are trying to help them?

My wife, Sherri, figured it out first, and she figured it out on a sense-of-life level. While watching the coverage last night on Fox News Channel, she told me that she was getting a familiar feeling. She studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Chicago, which is located in the South Side of Chicago just blocks away from the Robert Taylor Homes, one of the largest high-rise public housing projects in America. "The projects," as they were known, were infamous for uncontrollable crime and irremediable squalor. (They have since, mercifully, been demolished.)

What Sherri was getting from last night's television coverage was a whiff of the sense of life of "the projects." Then the "crawl"--the informational phrases flashed at the bottom of the screen on most news channels--gave some vital statistics to confirm this sense: 75% of the residents of New Orleans had already evacuated before the hurricane, and of the 300,000 or so who remained, a large number were from the city's public housing projects. Jack Wakeland then gave me an additional, crucial fact: early reports from CNN and Fox indicated that the city had no plan for evacuating all of the prisoners in the city's jails--so they just let many of them loose. There is no doubt a significant overlap between these two populations--that is, a large number of people in the jails used to live in the housing projects, and vice versa.

There were many decent, innocent people trapped in New Orleans when the deluge hit--but they were trapped alongside large numbers of people from two groups: criminals--and wards of the welfare state, people selected, over decades, for their lack of initiative and self-induced helplessness. The welfare wards were a mass of sheep--on whom the incompetent administration of New Orleans unleashed a pack of wolves.

All of this is related, incidentally, to the apparent incompetence of the city government, which failed to plan for a total evacuation of the city, despite the knowledge that this might be necessary. But in a city corrupted by the welfare state, the job of city officials is to ensure the flow of handouts to welfare recipients and patronage to political supporters--not to ensure a lawful, orderly evacuation in case of emergency.

No one has really reported this story, as far as I can tell. In fact, some are already actively distorting it, blaming President Bush, for example, for failing to personally ensure that the Mayor of New Orleans had drafted an adequate evacuation plan. The worst example is an execrable piece from the Toronto Globe and Mail, by a supercilious Canadian who blames the chaos on American "individualism." But the truth is precisely the opposite: the chaos was caused by a system that was the exact opposite of individualism.

What Hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the welfare state. What we consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is behavior that is normal for people who have values and take the responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to a disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties they face. They don't sit around and complain that the government hasn't taken care of them. They don't use the chaos of a disaster as an opportunity to prey on their fellow men.

But what about criminals and welfare parasites? Do they worry about saving their houses and property? They don't, because they don't own anything. Do they worry about what is going to happen to their businesses or how they are going to make a living? They never worried about those things before. Do they worry about crime and looting? But living off of stolen wealth is a way of life for them.

The welfare state--and the brutish, uncivilized mentality it sustains and encourages--is the man-made disaster that explains the moral ugliness that has swamped New Orleans. And that is the story that no one is reporting.

Source: TIA Daily -- September 2, 2005
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Money Rules as Yahoo dishes one of its visitors to the Chinese Authorities...

2005-09-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Yahoo 'helped jail China writer'

Dmax Says...

Yahoo is a major, respected search engine. We understand that like any other business it must ensure it assists authorities where criminal issues (such as child pornography, for instance) are concerned, but should it assist an authoritarian regime in persecuting political expression? What do you think?

As Western firms are rushing to invest in China, many are already talking about the next super power in the making. Few, however, are talking about China's appalling human rights record. Few governments are going beyond the usual rhetoric and actually penalizing this Communist turned Capitalist Dictatorship for the brutal way with which it 'manages' its people.

The following story is shocking for more than one reason: (i) Yahoo is a trusted search engine the world-over, so this story will definitely not going to fall on deaf ears with its multitude of users (especially in China), (ii) data protection laws are a big issue in today’s world and such a breach will send bad vibes to future investors in this potential super power house, about how much this country lacks basic civil freedoms and basic human liberties, particularly freedom of expression.

Read on. The following article has been taken from www.bbcnews.com

Oh my Yahoo...

Internet giant Yahoo has been accused of supplying information to China which led to the jailing of a journalist for "divulging state secrets".
Reporters Without Borders said Yahoo's Hong Kong arm helped China link Shi Tao's e-mail account and computer to a message containing the information.

The media watchdog accused Yahoo of becoming a "police informant" in order to further its business ambitions.

A Yahoo spokeswoman, Pauline Wong, said the company had no immediate comment.

Shi Tao, 37, worked for the Contemporary Business News in Hunan province, before he was arrested and sentenced in April to 10 years in prison.

According to a translation of his conviction, reproduced by Reporters Without Borders, he was found guilty of sending foreign-based websites the text of an internal Communist Party message.

Reporters Without Borders said the message warned journalists of the dangers of social unrest resulting from the return of dissidents on the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, in June 2004.

Censorship fears

The media organisation accused Yahoo of providing Chinese investigating organs with information that helped link Shi Tao's personal e-mail account and the text of the message to his computer.

"We already knew that Yahoo! collaborates enthusiastically with the Chinese regime in questions of censorship, and now we know it is a Chinese police informant as well," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

Western internet companies have regularly been criticised for agreeing to China's strict rules governing the internet, which Communist Party leaders fear could be a tool to spread dissent.

Microsoft was criticised in June for censoring what bloggers write.

The companies say they have to abide by local regulations, and point out that since China is set to be the world's biggest internet market, they cannot ignore it.

Earlier this month Yahoo paid $1bn (£556m) for a stake in China's biggest e-commerce firm, Alibaba.com.
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