Good and evil deeds

Shakespeare wrote: “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”

Shakespeare was a great writer and he had a deep understanding of the human nature. But I think he got this one wrong!

Joseph Muscat – Attard

What is Malta coming to?

Can someone please tell me what is happening here in Malta today (November 15)? I read the paper and see three items appearing, none of which make any sense.

First, we have two actions that only foster further questions as to why the attorney general still has her job. We have a suspected drug dealer released from custody because the officer fails to legally arrest him. Hey, how about some seminars from the AG, teaching the police how to do their jobs?

The AG’s office has slipped up again. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

And, then, in the Libyan mercenaries’ case, an acquittal because the AG and staff failed to adequately prepare their case. But, hey, she and her staff do this quite regularly. Even when the government finally tries a suspected criminal, they can’t even prosecute the case correctly.

And, finally, live video of Transport Malta officers beating up a person stopped for drink-driving while he was laying prone on the street with his arms spread. Drink-driving is not OK but was he proven to be drunk? Even so, what the heck gives them the right take the law into their own hands? Someone commented that the video looks like a typical night in the US. Yeah, it does, at that. But in neither case is it legal or justifiable.

Frankly, I was quite surprised the two officers were suspended. After all, the head of the prison at Corradino can be accused of pointing a gun at a citizen, threaten to kill him and then punch him and not be suspended.

Isn’t it about time that the prime minister checks out what’s happening in his government?

Alan Zelt – Naxxar

Freely accessible contraception

If retired orthopaedic surgeon Carmel Sciberras is not aware (November 6) that condoms are a barrier form of contraception, designed to prevent pregnancy and which can also protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), if used correctly during vaginal, anal and oral sex, then what hope is there for the rest of the population?

It seems that my eminent colleague is reacting in exactly the same way as many of my patients do when I ask: “Do you use any contraception?” About one-third of my patients (who include persons from 142 different countries, plus Malta) say they do not. When I probe and ask whether they’re happy to get pregnant, their response is almost always: “No, absolutely not.”

My next question is usually whether they use condoms and about 70 per cent say they do. If they do not, I will then ask which method they are using to protect themselves and the vast majority will say “He pulls out” or “We are careful”.

It’s good to note that the cycle method and the withdrawal method have high failure rates, comparable to no contraception use. Let us be absolutely clear: the elimination of all barriers to comprehensive and freely accessible contraception (which includes condoms) is the only way we will ever reduce the number of STIs and, for that matter, also abortions.

Isabel Stabile, obo Doctors for Choice – St Julian’s