Blogs
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The online hate mob
I'm an animal lover. I own two Persian cats which I sometimes treat like spoilt brats. I'm an advocate against any forms of animal cruelty. But when I see mass hysteria in reaction to incidents of animal cruelty (especially those spawned from fake...
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'I can take it... but stop attacking the vulnerable'
And it is time to blog again. Why, after months of silence? These last few months have been a tough personal journey for me. One that took me to places where I questioned my dedication to advocacy, as I often felt that nothing will change. I laid...
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'I used my fatness as a joke until I decided enough was enough'
There’s been a lot of talk about bullying recently. For many of us, maybe because of our appearance, bullying was part of growing up. But the fact there has always been some form of bullying doesn't make it justifiable. And in today’s world, with...
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Egrant and politicians' children
As a social scientist I know that missing data is as relevant as the available data, because what is unsaid has a lot to say about what is and is not valued. Recommendations on ‘the’ way forward further to magisterial inquiry on Egrant are no...
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When all bets are off
Some time ago, when the Panama papers revealed two Maltese names which happened to be PEPs, or politically exposed persons, political opinion quickly exerted pressure on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to force them out of government. Yet, Muscat did...
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When football comes home
Some watch the World Cup for the love of the game or the team, getting together with beers, bar food and big screens, as well as the benign rivalry. Yet the World Cup is also fertile soil to question what happens when people come together, more so...
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Call it national egoism
It's time to face the truth. Migration cannot be stopped and will not be stopped. It is history which teaches me that, not my humanitarian values. We can build the biggest walls, we can send soldiers to patrol the borders and we can set up...
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Manichaeism, trees, and frozen embryos
If you have strong feelings about either frozen embryos or trees, I advise you to stop reading now. I would respect you for it, and I would respect you more if you don’t give me the usual litanies, from which, frankly, we all need a break. First,...
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Confessional and parochial responses to risk management
The confessional model is increasingly being used as a vehicle of risk management in the global service and knowledge-based economy. Thus, in preventive and remedial healthcare, in education, banking and insurance, prospective services’ end-users...
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The 'influss' hypocrisy
If you ever wondered what's really wrong in the state of Malta, then look no further than Net News's reportage of Joseph Muscat's Sunday sermon about the "need" for more foreign workers. In a nutshell, the Prime Minister made his argument why...
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No to a watery grave
At the time of writing the crisis around the migrant rescue ship Aquarius is still ongoing. It is a sign that the migration honeymoon between Malta and Italy is about to end. Thanks to the informal agreement that existed between prime ministers...
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John Suda wins another big award
A few days ago, journalist blogger Manuel Delia listed his most read blog posts. Some were quite obviously top of the pops material. Then you go higher and you get to number one, which has attracted most interest and hits. And it hits you in the...
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Prime Minister, we need to chat
I must confess I liked Joseph Muscat's Facebook interview with Katriel, the brave young man who suffers from a rare form of Lupus. Katriel asked the questions children his age would typically ask the prime minister: which cuisine do you prefer?...
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Educating post-millennials
Most of us know that educational success is no guarantee of wellbeing in adulthood. Fewer of us are familiar with the debate on how educational success is related to precariousness. This is particularly relevant in Malta, where parental concern...
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Free votes and unanimity
In the last few weeks Adrian Delia, leader of the Nationalist Party, gave his group free votes on two bills presented in Parliament. The Prime Minister did not feel the need to do the same. Regarding the vote on the second reading of the so-called...
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Because football matters
The World Cup will soon kick off. Hurrah—what marvellous news. What a breath of freshest air. We can now get down to a serious and profound discussion of things that really matter for our lifeblood. Out with the garbage about freedoms and rule of...
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The Montebello debacle
Sunday started with a concentrated barrage against the Archbishop. It-Torċa fired the first volley, though truth be told It-Torċa’s editorial did not mention the Archbishop. Then the social networks went on fire: “Scicluna is the Grand Inquisitor.
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The Weakened Embryo Production Act
One hundred professors and lecturers from 14 faculties of the University of Malta are the latest in a long list of experts that have condemned the amendments the government seems determined to make to the Embryo Protection Act. The academics...
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IVF: Will Joseph Muscat ignore the President as well?
Will the government heed the appeal by the President about the IVF debate, after having ignored appeals made by many, including George Vella, former deputy prime minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party? The President in a statement on...
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Oh my Malta, indeed
I’ve been on sabbatical from my writing and on April 21 it will have been six months since I felt the urge to write. The events which unfolded after October 16 2017 made me reconsider why I write and why I put myself out there, not just on this...
