Great week, if you ask me

I thought my decision to stand by John Dalli's version of the OLAF allegations and criticism of Kessler's death sentence had paid off. If I believe in something, I will not be moved or impressed by public opinion, even though, in this case, I know that John Dalli in many people's eyes is Mr Bogeyman. That was apparently shattered, to put it mildly, by the Bahamas revelation.

I am not one to give in to pressure easily, so I tried to keep my cool. In the past, when I stood by the Meinrad Calleja story over the allegations that he was behind the stabbing of Richard Cachia Caruana, I was not exactly embraced by public opinion or the Queen of Bile herself. On the contrary I was called all sorts of names.

But justice prevailed, even though Eddie Fenech Adami's supergrass and liar, the one and only Zeppi l-Ħafi, lives on as free as a bird.

The US-based International Herald Tribune published the Bahamas story on Monday morning. Incredibly, the Queen of Bile had it posted at 7:30am. To believe that she wakes up this early is of course wishful thinking. I will not go there.

Now I know there are many people who love to read bile and who believe her. I have made it a policy to boycott those entities and people who support her, and by that I mean The Independent and all those who financially support her magazines.

I may not agree with everything Manuel Mallia says, but the Bile Queen's latest reference to his children as "handicapped" is way out of line. And this is not the first time that she has lashed out at the children of politicians and private citizens, and yet the Press Club and all other journalists have chosen to lose their voice. That the judiciary is scared to tackle her is proof that everyone is shitting their pants in fear of getting the whip. If no one will take her on, I will.

If her children are remotely mentioned, even if their actions are of public interest, be ready for her extreme retribution reminiscent of a scene from The Exorcist.

We have to come to terms with the fact that The Times, run by Adrian Hillman, is not a purveyor of the truth.

But back to Dalli: that he is stupid for having chosen to visit the Bahamas, supposedly for the sake of a good cause, happens to be true.

Very stupid. And if I were his advisor I would have told him so. He should have been content to be commissioner and that is it.

But the truth is that there is no evidence, other than that insinuated by Mark Micallef from The Times, that he did transfer any money or, more importantly, that there is a direct connection between the Bahamas trip and the tobacco saga.

Now yesterday morning, Adrian Hillman's Times newspaper chose to illustrate the John Dalli story with a man digging his hands into a pot of gold coins. To some people that was funny.

They should try their luck with illustrations using the same yardstick - but for other politicians.

Again, that Dalli could have done without a Bahamas trip and holiday to the Caribbean goes without question. More so since he is a man who knows that the shadows from the distant and recent past have continued to follow him through his political career.

Yet unlike Austin Gatt, who had over half a million in undeclared Swiss francs in a Swiss bank account, no one can find any account abroad in Dalli's name. But then again, if your name is Austin, you can get away with murder; if it is John, then please expect the worst.

Just imagine for a second if John Dalli had a Swiss account with half a million in it and it was undeclared.

What is interesting is that the man who rented out the Bahamian villa to the company visited Malta in January of this year.

Our sister newspaper, Illum, reports that there was an attempt to entrap John Dalli's daughter, Claire Gauci Borda, into consenting to deposit a large amount of Swiss francs... And guess what? The encounter was taped.

That would have been tantamount to money laundering, but the 'bad' Dalli daughter did not fall for the ploy. I guess it has to do with standards, but in the press we do not praise standards, we amplify, and vilify, mistakes.

And another question: if this Brit had such problems with Claire's rental payment, why the hell did he choose her to deposit his Swiss francs?

More interestingly, Illum reports that the same Brit from the Bahamas met an individual from the Nationalist Party and there were, shall we say, some happy conversations.

By mid-February, the Nationalist Party was facing a meltdown and a decision had been taken to stop any negative campaigning.

Shall I go on?

The truth is that is there is no truth.

The truth most of the time is not found in the headers and in the pictures, in the captions and the quotes; the truth is for those who care to use their heads and think with them, not with their hearts.

Fates are determined by the gossip that we listen to and the stories we read. And if we are surrounded by people who chatter for the sake of it, and we believe anything written and presented to us, then we have a mindless society only driven by false perception, odium and spite.

As usual I have no problem being the odd one out.

It has worked for me.

***

Muscat's decision to take a stand on migrants is one which is fuelled by the desires of the vast majority of Maltese, who deride migrants and the colour black.

He is jumping on the bandwagon of xenophobia and abdicating his core values, which should be at the heart of Labour Party policies.

His idea of pushbacks is simply not on.

Whether it is illegal or legal is not the point.

I cannot quite grasp why he has taken this stand. My worst fear is that he personally believes that migrants in Malta are a threat to society and not an asset.

Jesus, they could be such a plus. If we used our heads.

Should Muscat not make an issue about migrants reaching our shores?

Yes, he should: he should start off by looking at the long term, the idea of being at the centre of a massive investment project to tackle the issue of economic strife in North and Central Africa.

Long shot.

But then he should perhaps take a feather from Mintoff's cap - Mintoff, who dreamt bigger-than-life dreams (such as a nuclear-free Mediterranean) - and be the driver in the EU to underscore the importance of addressing the root of migrant crossings to Europe.

I do not believe this will happen.

He will indulge the xenophobia that rules the Maltese psyche and continue to worry me that insularity is truly a genetic, inevitable part of our national identikit.