SASM's 4th of July Word Cloud

Help us define SASM's 4th of July ECard

We would like to run a special edition of Stars And Stripes Malta News covering the USA’s largest holiday, Independence day. Send us your thoughts, pictures, quotes and other publishable material. We will then go through the material and through our combined effort create a web page to mark the occasion.  Your submission must be at us by the 1st of July. The material you send can be of yourselves or it can be public domain stuff you would like to share with the rest of the world.

We will print the names of all those who have participated unless you tell us otherwise.


Send your contributions including your details to info@StarsAndStripesMalta..com.

Thank You

I would like to express my thanks to the committee of SASM for their support, prayers and kind words following my father’s passing on. I would also like to thank all those from the US Embassy who communicated their condolences.

My father was three weeks away from his 89th birthday and apart from the last few days had lived a physically healthy life to its fullest. For many years he made New York his home. Upon his return to Malta, he would proudly hoist the US flag onto a pole with a silver eagle on many occasions. Celebrating US festivities were a common occurrence at home and this was more so when others who, like him, had lived in Manhattan, started retiring in Malta.

Alan Bonnici

4th of July / SASM annual get together

As all of you know our committee is split between the Maltese islands and the east and west coast of the USA. Our normal day to day activities are only possible thanks to technology. This year whilst planning our annual 4^th of July celebrations we learnt that both Louis and John will be in Malta a few weeks after this national holiday. A dilemma arose on whether we should remain faithful (or as faithful as possible) to the 4^th or whether we should shift this occasion to a date when the entire committee could attend. We decided for the latter as this gives all those who attend to get the rare opportunity to meet SASM’s committee in its entirety.

In order to make this happen we have set SASM’s annual get together to Friday August 3^rd.  As was the case last year we will be holding this event at Ta’Kenuna in Nadur. Given this special occasion we will working triply hard to make sure everyone who attends has a great time with prizes and loads of fund for kids and adults alike.

If you  have any comments or suggestions how to make this a special night then drop us a note. Joyce Grech, our hard working PRO is the person organising this event. Address your suggestions to her on joyce.a.grech@gov.mt. If you would like to lend a hand with the organisation of this event contact her.

25 Beneficiaries Of International Protection Depart For The United States Of America

25 persons from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan all of whom are single adult men left today to start a new life in the United States, under the US Refugee Resettlement Program (USRRP). On arrival, they will be assisted by NGOs in the U.S.A. to proceed to their final destinations in various states. This latest departure brings the total of beneficiaries of international protection who were resettled to the United States from Malta since such resettlements started in 2007 to 896. To date, 28 migrants have been resettled from Malta to the U.S.A. during the month of April - 85 since the start of the year. More beneficiaries of international protection are expected to leave to the United States in the coming weeks.

In all 1,507 refugees and beneficiaries of international protection have been relocated or resettled to various other developed countries since 2005.

The persons who departed this morning were selected following a process involving the UNHCR (Malta office) as well as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) at various stages. US Government officials also conducted interviews in Malta.

Washington's Birthday

Washington's Birthday is a federal holiday honoring George Washington. Originally if was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. In 1968, the 90th Congress voted to shift three holidays (including Washington's Birthday) to Mondays. The law took effect in 1971, and as a result, Washington's Birthday holiday was changed to the third Monday in February. Not all Americans were happy with the new law. There was some concern that Washington's identity would be lost since the third Monday in February would never fall on his actual birthday (the third week of Fenruary can only fall between the 15^th and the 21^st of February). There was also an attempt to rename the public holiday "Presidents' Day", but the idea didn't catch up universally as some believed not all presidents deserved a special recognition. This federal holiday was the first one to honour and American ciizen.

George Washington was the first president of the United States of America. His first term as president was from 1789 to 1793 and his second term from 1793 to 1797. Before he became president, he played important roles in the military, leading the American Continental Army to victory over the British in 1783. Washington is often seen as the father of the United States and is probably the best known American politician ever.

George Washington could trace his family’s presence in North America to his great-grandfather, John Washington, who migrated from England to Virginia. The family held some distinction in England and was granted land by Henry VIII.  Much of the family’s wealth was lost during the Puritan revolution and in 1657 George’s grandfather, Lawrence Washington, migrated to Virginia.
George’s father, Augustine, who was born in 1694. Augustine Washington was an ambitious man who acquired land and slaves, built mills, and grew tobacco. George Washington’s father died when he was 11. In 1748, when he was 16, George traveled with a surveying party plotting land in Virginia’s western territory. In 1753, Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor, Robert Dinwiddie sends Washington, now aide-de-camp with a rank of major, to Fort LeBoeuf Pennsylvania, to warn the French to remove themselves from land claimed by Britain. The French refused and French and Indian War begining. The French counter attacked and after a full day siege, Washington surrendered. He was later released. George Washington was given the honorary rank of colonel and joined British General Edward Braddock’s army in Virginia in 1755. During the encounter, the French and their Indian allies ambushed Braddock, who was mortally wounded. Though he fought bravely, he could do little to turn back the rout and led the broken army back to safety. In August, 1755, Washington was made commander of all Virginia troops.

In 1758, George Washington returned to duty. His experience during the war was generally frustrating and eventually he resigned his commission and returned to Mount Vernon disillusioned. George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealty widow.  He kept over 100 slaves, but accepted the fact that slavery was the law. He also entered politics and was elected to Virginia’s House of Burgesses in 1758.

The British ministry, facing a heavy postwar debt, high home taxes, and continued military costs in America, decided in 1764 to obtain revenue from the colonies. When the Virginia legislators, in May 1774, called for a Continental Congress, he was present and signed the resolutions. The Virginia provincial convention promptly elected Washington one of the seven delegates to the first Continental Congress. When the Congress met in Philadelphia on Sept. 5, 1774, he was in his seat in full uniform, and his participation in its councils marks the beginning of his national career.

He was elected to the second Continental Congress at the March 1775 session of the legislature.

After the battles of Lexington and Concord in April, 1775, the political dispute between Great Britain and her North American colonies escalated into an armed conflict. In May, George Washington traveled to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia dressed in a military uniform, indicating that he was prepared for war. On June 15, Washington was appointed Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the colonial forces against Great Britain.

By November, 1783, the British had evacuated New York City and other cities and the war was essentially over. The Americans had won their independence. The war had been costly to the Washington family but generous land grant from Congress for his military service and sufficiently compensated him.

In 1787, George Washington was again called to the duty of his country. At the Constitution Convention, George Washington was unanimously chosen as president. Washington had come to the conclusion that it wasn’t amendments that were needed, but a new constitution that would give the national government more authority. 

During his first term, George Washington adopted a series of measures proposed by Treasury Secretary Hamilton to reduce the nation’s debt and place its finances on sound footing. In foreign affairs, President George Washington, took a cautious approach, realizing the weak young nation could not succumb to Europe’s political intrigues.

All through his two terms as president, George Washington was dismayed at the growing partisanship within government and the nation. As Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton pushed for a strong national government and an economy built in industry.  Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson desired to keep government small and center power more at the local level, where citizen’s freedom could be better protected. He envisioned an economy based on farming. Those who followed Hamilton’s vision took the name Federalists and people who opposed those ideas and tended to lean toward Jefferson’s view began calling themselves Democratic-Republicans. Washington despised political partisanship, believing that ideological differences should never become institutionalized. He strongly felt that political leaders should be free to debate important issues without being bound by party loyalty. However, Washington could do little to slow the development of political parties. The ideals promoted by Hamilton and Jefferson produced a two-party system that proved remarkably durable. These opposing viewpoints represented a continuation of the debate over the proper role of government, a debate that began with the conception of the Constitution and continues today.

Groundhog Day

Do you recall the 1993 comedy starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell called Groundhog Day?  For the benefit of those who aren’t fans of Ghostbusters star Bill Murray; aren’t film buff or are not that old, I’ll briefly go through the move plot: “A self-centered weather forecaster (played by Bill Murray) ends up reliving Groundhog day every morning until he finally realizes that in order for this routine to stop he must change from within. What is most striking about this movie is the alarm clock at the B&B Murray resides in; it wakes him up the same rituals and activities as the day before and Murray soon realizes, the day after.” IMDB rate this move at 8.1/10 and places is at position 168 of the top 250 movies of all times. 

 Photograph by Jason Cohn, Reuters

Has SASM started reviewing movies? No yet. We want to discuss the holiday celebrated on February 2^nd. Tradition has it that when a groundhog leaves its burrow on this day it will look for its shadow. If it can’t see its shadow (because it is cloudy) than the groundhog will leave its burrow signifying that winter-like weather will soon end. On the other hand if the groundhog sees its shadow (meaning that the sun is out), the critter will head back into its burrow and winter weather will continue for another six weeks.

Punxsutawney, a borough in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, 135 km northeast of Pittsburgh holds the largest Groundhog Day celebration. It is followed by thousands of locals, tourists and news crews who gather every year to observe whether winter has come to an end or still has a few more weeks.

German immigrants brought the tradition with them. As they settled in hills of Pennsylvania, they began using the Groundhog to predict the arrival of spring. The tradition is based upon Candlemas, the day that is the midpoint between winter and spring. A famous Candlemas poems goes:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.