We had a weekend of graphic horror from Japan, tinged admiration of a people whose culture and innate fortitude makes them react with such quiet courage and, believe it or not, courtesy. The earthquake blew the thug Gaddafi off the news for virtually all of Saturday, though he was back on from Sunday, starkly outlining the crass failure of the West, ourselves included, to put together a reaction that properly counteracts this animal's treatment of his countrymen.

Malta has much to be proud of in the immediate aftermath to the Libyan uprising but along with the rest of the West, we should now think about hanging our heads somewhat. Not that we alone can do anything, and Constitutional considerations, with which I do not necessarily agree, make it debatable whether we should do anything on the military front, but it took perhaps just a little too long for an out-and-out condemnation of Gaddafi to be issued.

Indeed, from some quarters, as I write, this has not even as yet been made.

But from the macro-level horrors which the news has been visiting on us, at the micro level there was a glimmer of decent news: the editor and writer of the student paper where "Li tkisser sewwi" was published were found not guilty of publishing obscenity and pornography.

For the sake of those who forgot, the head honcho of one of our bastions of academe, the University, had asked the Police to prosecute these two young men. This provoked quite an outcry from various quarters, prominent in its absence amongst which was the academic community, for whom what may have been seen as an assault on freedom of expression was as nothing.

Thankfully, the Court has come down on the side of the angels.