#malta strongman show

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

Bi pjaċir inħabbar li se nagħmel spettaklu ta' wirjiet ta' saħħa fuq Malta’s Got Talent illejla fit-8.50pm fuq Television Malta! Grazzi ħafna lil Kurt Cini u Raymond Williams Bomba ta’ Kaless Ltd talli għenuni f’din l-ewwel audition tal-ġudikanti! Narawkom illejla 🇲🇹💪

I am pleased to announce that I will perform a feats of strength show on Malta’s Got Talent tonight at 8.50pm on Television Malta! Many thanks to Kurt Cini and Raymond Williams Bomba of Kaless Ltd for assisting me in this first judges audition! See you all tonight 🇲🇹💪

#maltasgottalent#televisionmalta#strongmanforcharity#Kalessltd@maltasgottalent@maltasgottalent_286@raymondbomba

[mariacallous]

After decades talking tough on immigration and a year after becoming Italy’s most right-wing prime minister since the Second World War, Giorgia Meloni finds herself dealing with a surge in arrivals from Africa that is sorely testing her electoral pledge to keep irregular migrants away from Italian shores.

With political instability, war, poverty, and global warming plaguing much of Africa and the Middle East, more than 140,000 migrants have already reached Italy by boat this year, almost twice as many as in the whole of 2022. Thousands more lost their lives during the journey. Last month, 7,000 people arrived over just a couple of days in Lampedusa, a small Italian island between Malta and Tunisia that has become a flash point of Europe’s migrant crisis, overwhelming reception facilities there.

As the European Union reels from Islamist attacks in the French city of Arras and in Brussels, which highlighted the shortcomings of its migration system, and amid heightened security concerns linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, Meloni’s immigration woes show the struggles of populist leaders with so-called easy solutions confronted with the reality of government. More than 70 percent of Italians believe that Meloni has done less than she had promised on immigration, and 66 percent say the government is not capable of handling the issue.

“This is a big problem for Meloni,” said Matteo Villa, a senior research fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. “The government is under a lot of pressure.” 

Right-wing populists around the world are often accused of selling simplistic, unrealistic fixes to complex problems, especially immigration. Former U.S. President Donald Trump never did build the wall, though his successor still aims to do so. Britain continues to be reached by tens of thousands of irregular migrants every year well after pro-Brexit right-wingers convinced it to break away from the EU to “take back control” of its borders. France’s centrist President Emmanuel Macron repeatedly trounced far-right leader Marine Le Pen in presidential debates by laying bare the incoherence of her program. 

Italy, meanwhile, is the main point of arrival for migrants leaving from countries such as Libya and Tunisia in a bid to reach Europe by sea. During last year’s electoral campaign, Meloni claimed that “illegal immigration threatens citizens’ security and quality of life” and promised to stem the influx. Her proposals included establishing an EU “naval blockade” off North Africa’s coasts as well as setting up EU immigration centers in Africa to evaluate people’s asylum requests there.

One year on, Meloni’s government and her voters are facing a harsh reality check. 

An Italy-sponsored deal struck by the EU and Tunisia in the summer, entailing the payment of hundreds of millions of euros to the country in exchange for its help to stop departures, appears to be faltering, with Tunisian strongman Kais Saied saying this month that he will not accept any “charity.”

Meanwhile, despite some vague pledges from the European Commission to step up border surveillance, the kind of massive military operation that would be required to “blockade” large stretches of Africa’s Mediterranean coasts is nowhere near to becoming reality. Finally, repatriations of failed asylum-seekers, which over the past decade hovered at a dismal 18 percent of all those ordered to leave Italy, have only slightly grown on Meloni’s watch compared to last year.

In a bid to maintain support from hard-line voters, the Italian government—which includes Meloni’s post-fascist Brothers of Italy party, as well as the far-right League and the conservative Forza Italia—has resorted to a mix of blame game and headline-grabbing announcements.

Senior right-wing figures recently lambasted Germany over its public funding to a nongovernmental organization rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean, which the Italian government says incentivizes human trafficking. The NGO’s ship has rescued and disembarked 753 people in Italy this year, barely 0.6 percent of total sea arrivals, yet Meloni formally complained to her German counterpart, Olaf Scholz, with a letter leaked to the press, while a top League member alleged that the German left-wing government was seeking to make Meloni’s cabinet look bad by “filling us up with illegals.”

But Meloni’s government has done more than rant. Over the past year, it has approved a slate of measures including tougher punishments for smugglers, stricter procedures to grant humanitarian protection, and more detention centers and longer detention periods for rejected asylum-seekers awaiting deportation.

“For years, center-left governments have simply been passive toward a phenomenon that, on the contrary, we are governing,” said Sara Kelany, a member of parliament with Brothers of Italy. 

Critics say most of these actions will achieve little but make asylum-seekers even more miserable than they already are. “Initial reception is being blended with a detention system,” said Fabrizio Coresi, a migration expert at Action Aid, a human rights NGO. And due to the lack of agreements between Italy and many of the migrants’ countries of origin, rejected asylum-seekers often can’t be deported, and after being locked up for a certain period, they are simply released. The government has also run into legal trouble, facing adverse rulings in recent weeks on parts of its asylum policy.

“These are measures adopted with an eye on the government’s base, rather than actual solutions,” said Lorena Stella Martini, a migration analyst based in Milan.

Meloni may be achieving better results on the European level, where she can take some credit with her electorate for putting the migrant issue back on top of the agenda. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accompanied Meloni to Tunisia over the summer and visited Lampedusa last month, aligning herself with the Italian prime minister on the need for urgent action to reduce arrivals and promising “a coordinated response.”

The EU is also making progress on a new pact on immigration, which entails stricter procedures for asylum-seekers coming from countries deemed safe, looser rules to expel rejected applicants, and the transfer of thousands of migrants from front-line countries, such as Italy, Greece, and Spain, to other member states—which would otherwise have to pay thousands of euros for every asylum-seeker they refuse to take. 

“For the first time in years, the majority of European countries are converging toward the Italian stance,” said Kelany, the Italian parliament member.

It might be less than a blessing. Experts note that the deal, which confirms the rule that most migrants should be processed by the country of first arrival, is less of an Italian triumph than an own goal. “Meloni’s diplomatic victory is being able to show that everybody in the EU now accepts that the objective is curbing irregular immigration,” said Villa, the research fellow, “but then when you look at the policies that are being discussed [from an Italian perspective], if they were actually implemented, it would be a disaster.”

And yet, for all the grumbling over her handling of immigration, Meloni’s party continues to top the polls with an almost 10-point lead. That might be because Italy’s so-called migrant crisis is not as bad as it seems. Since many migrants end up moving on to other countries, over the past decade, the total number of foreigners in Italy has actually remained stable. Italy has half as many residents born outside the EU as Germany, and 2 million fewer than France, which has only a slightly larger population.

Italy could even use more immigration: Over the summer, Meloni’s government quietly approved the entry of almost half a million non-EU workers by the end of 2025 to fill gaps in the Italian labor market.

The bigger question is how long her voters’ patience will last. “Despite the talk of stopping immigration flows and carrying out mass expulsions of irregular migrants, neither one will happen or is even possible,” said Martini, the expert from Milan.

[apricitystudies]

what i read in june 2022:

(previous editions) bold = favourite

class, race, & labour

how white feminists and elites appropriated slavery, and still do

love song to costco

why are we all working so hard if it isn't making us richer?

guaranteed next-day deliveries in south korea are coming at a heavy price

undrinkable water and casual racism (australia)

white parents rallied to chase a black educator out of town. then, they followed her to the next one (usa)

gender & sexuality

lesbian women tell us how straight men just can’t let them be

what the sexual violence of game of thrones begot

‘women are treated like walking incubators’: malta’s fight for abortion

thailand is a top destination for gender confirmation surgery. its success is a symptom of western failure

the history of fetishising asian women (usa)

roe v. wade

‘i was worried i had been permanently mutilated’: what abortion was like before roe v wade

roe v. wade defined an era. the supreme court just started a new one

women of colour react to scotus decision overturning abortion rights

politics & climate change

marcos jr’s popularity shows lasting appeal of strongman leaders in the philippines

in 10 years, we may no longer be here (malaysia)

private prisons are a very australian problem

colombia’s shift to the left: a new ‘pink tide’ in latin america?

history, culture, & media

they bent to their knees and kissed the sand (uk, chagos)

the king of kowloon: my search for the cult graffiti prophet of hong kong

the anxiety of influencers

a universe of magazines (singapore)

how hollywood validates the myth of the good guy with a gun

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

#puttinucares#knisjasanfrangisk#tonyandcoolKnisja San Frangisk HamrunPuttinu Cares

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

Bi pjaċir inħabbar li se nagħmel spettaklu ta' wirjiet ta' saħħa fuq Malta’s Got Talent nhar il-Ħadd li ġej fit-8.50pm fuq Television Malta! Grazzi ħafna lil Kurt Cini u Raymond Williams Bomba ta’ Kaless Ltd talli għenuni f’din l-ewwel audition tal-ġudikanti! Narawkom il-Ħadd 🇲🇹💪

I am pleased to announce that I will perform a feats of strength show on Malta's Got Talent this coming Sunday at 8.50pm on Television Malta! Many thanks to Kurt Cini and Raymond Williams Bomba of Kaless Ltd for assisting me in this first judges audition! See you all on Sunday 🇲🇹💪

#maltasgottalent#televisionmalta#strongmanforcharity#Kalessltd#tvshow#performance#strongman#malta#maltese#television#show#gottalent#stage#performer#featsofstrength#malta❤️#malta🇲🇹#maltesegram#maltesers#tvprogram#talentshow Malta's Got Talent (fans) @maltasgottalent @maltasgottalent_286 @raymondbomba

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Back lifting a skip half full with rubble plus a concrete block 💪🇲🇹 #backlift #rafskiphire #skips #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #squat #squatlift #strongman #strongmen #featsofstrength #tony #cool #legday #legexercise #oldtimestrongman #neverskiplegday #nogymnoproblem #skip https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5eBXCHrNF/?igshid=zcq89jq4gxji

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Tony Vader returns 😷🤣 bending a five inch nail into a U shape 💪🇲🇹 #tonyvader #bendingsteel #darthvader #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #performance #nailbending #strongman #strongmen #featsofstrength #tony #cool #gasmask #steelbending #oldtimestrongman #nail #nogymnoproblem #bendingiron https://www.instagram.com/p/CAvBY-InjaX/?igshid=166vtlsc4m364

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Overhead lifting two six packs of water with just my pinky little finger 💪🇲🇹👍 Preparing for my next charity show with Mr. Cool where we will be performing at the MDRA for Charity 2020 event organised by radio and TV personality Mario Mifsud (DJ Banana) in aid of The Malta Autism Centre on the 31st of March (Jum il-Helsien). More info coming soon... #maltaautismcentre #mdraforcharity #respectmotorsport #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #charity #pinky #strongman #strongmen #featsofstrength #tony #cool #fingerstrength #littlefinger #oldtimestrongman #sports #marathon #trucks @halfar_raceway https://www.instagram.com/p/B8it5DDHASg/?igshid=1sfejy1hda1nl

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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A post shared by Tony Farrugia 🇲🇹 (@tonyfarrugia1)

Ripping a Yellow Pages phone directory (with the plastic cover on) in half on live TV 💪🇲🇹 Thanks to Kevin Merceica for inviting us on his show Attwali on F Living TV to promote our charity shows and to perform some feats of strength /stunts live on air! This was a few weeks before Mr. Cool's accident at work and he is now at home recovering from his injuries. #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #charity #strongman #strongmen #featsofstrength #tony #cool #spectacular #tvprogram #oldtimestrongman #tv #tvshow #live #livetv #maltesers #yellowpages #phonedirectory https://www.instagram.com/p/B0TvVlkHMYg/?igshid=hg2avw7hrfmn

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Street Strongman 🤣 overhead pressing a fridge freezer in the middle of the street 😂💪🇲🇹 Preparing for our next Tony and Cool show which will be in aid of ALS Malta on Friday the 7th of June at 10am in Paola Square! Come see us perform some incredible feats of strength and donate what you can to this great charity that helps ALS/MND sufferers in Malta! #alsmalta #maltabikeride #maltaevents #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #charity #paola #strongman #strongmen #featsofstrength #tony #cool #spectacular #motorbike #oldtimestrongman #motorcycle #motorbikes #motorcycles @bjornformosa https://www.instagram.com/p/BxpNxX5HsBc/?igshid=1jp9wg11pnmcr

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Overhead lifting a gas bottle (26kg) with my pinky little finger 🏋️‍♂️💪🇲🇹 Mission accomplished for the Karl Vella Foundation! Thanks to the Malta LandRover Owners Club for inviting me and Mr Cool to perform at their charity event last Sunday in Mosta. #karlvellafoundation #landroverownersclubmalta #maltaevents #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #charity #mosta #strongman #strongmen #featsofstrength #tony #cool #spectacular #landrover #oldtimestrongman #sports #landrovers #trucks https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw9xSWxgwbX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1g2zpb6lnxm94

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Flipping over a big boulder in sunny Malta 🇲🇹💪 #boulder #flipping #caveman #foryourpage #strengthtraining #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #strongman #featsofstrength #tony #oldtimestrongman #nogymnoproblem #naturalathlete #stonelifting #stones #workout #training #boulders https://www.instagram.com/p/CGVXh6KHvbp/?igshid=57bl3wv1h8xt

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

Overhead lifting a big stone 🇲🇹💪 #stone #lifting #malta #rocklifting #streetworkout #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malteseofinstagram #show #event #strongman #featsofstrength #tony #oldtimestrongman #nogymnoproblem #naturalathlete #stonelifting #stones #ohp #outdoorworkout #strengthtraining https://www.instagram.com/p/CGAIXtJnebx/?igshid=dm7mhh6m4in8

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Performing the human dumbbell at a fundraiser for Qalb it-Tfal 🙏🇲🇹💪 #charity #show #humandumbbell #strongman #dumbbell #overhead #lift #liftingpeople #featsofstrength #tony #and #mrcool #childrenscharity #performance #boom #fundraiser #malta #maltese #maltagozo #malta❤️ #malteseofficial #maltesegram #liveperformance #oldtimestrongman #overheadjerk #showtime #powershow #tonyandcool #justliftit #malteser https://www.instagram.com/p/CF_g1EBH6it/?igshid=1pb7qzsw0iac2

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Exploding a can of Red Bull 🤣🇲🇹💪 #redbull #explosion #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #performance #strongman #featsofstrength #tony #cool #redbullrampage #oldtimestrongman #crusher #nogymnoproblem #explode #oldschoolstrongman #malteser #funny #fyp @redbull @redbullindia @redbullcz @redbullitalia @redbull_rus @redbulluk @redbullbr @redbulltaiwan @redbullpolska @redbullcl @redbullesp @redbullmusicdk @redbullarg @redbullpor @redbullmusic @redbullmexico @redbullfrance @redbullperu @redbullsk @redbulldo @redbullpakistan @redbulltr @redbullegypt @redbullracing https://www.instagram.com/p/CF87keRnC0i/?igshid=jyw28g9jqroq

[tonyfarrugiastrongman]

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Flipping over a big boulder 🇲🇹💪 #boulder #flipping #caveman #foryourpage #strengthtraining #tonyandcool #tonythestrongman #mrcool #malta❤️ #maltesedaily #malta🇲🇹 #maltesegram #maltagozo #maltese #maltesers #malteseofficial #malta #show #event #strongman #featsofstrength #tony #oldtimestrongman #nogymnoproblem #naturalathlete #stonelifting #stones #workout #training #boulders https://www.instagram.com/p/CF4yGQenD_k/?igshid=1sdzb2lodx0l9