Quagmire

We faced through things. There wasn't much to change. We were as always on the border of great events. There was a lot of ocean between us and the rest of the world. He smiled briefly in the heat, that smile of recognition and embarrassment, and when he realised who it really was he kept on moving, fast. Better to be certain than sorry. Sydney, a city full of snarling yuppies, has become less flash with the property prices settling. We're one of the most overpriced markets in the world, according to some recent report. The heat, the Australian summer, had suddenly hit. He had built enough walls to survive. Life had always been fragile.

The news just continues to defy belief:

Angry clash at Hussein trial
Boston Globe - 1 hour agoBy Thanassis Cambanis, Globe Staff December 6, 2005. BAGHDAD -- Two witnesses who survived a 1982 massacre angrily confronted Iraq's onetime dictator in a courtroom here yesterday, accusing Saddam Hussein ...

CIA 'closes terror prisons'NEWS.com.au - 7 hours agoTHE United States held captured al-Qaeda suspects at secret CIA prisons in Europe until last month when the facilities were shut down after media reports of their existence, US television's ABC News reported today, citing current and former CIA agents. ...

Israel begins clampdown in West Bank after bombingReuters AlertNet - 21 minutes agoBy Matt Spetalnick. JERUSALEM, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Israel began a clampdown in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday in the early stages of what it vowed would be a harsh military response to a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed five Israelis. ...

Anti-terror laws passedThe Age - 21 minutes agoSeven-year jail terms for urging violence against the government or sections of the community. Police and ASIO powers to examine passenger and business information. Broader use of surveillance cameras at transport hubs. ...