The question of capital punishment arising in connection with In Cold River, (sic) he says, 'At least in England they don’t keep them waiting about for five or ten years.' I point out that in the Christie case they should have and ask whether he thinks the death sentence is ever justifiable. 'Well, there have been people on whom I can picture it being carried out. Brecht, for one. In fact I can imagine doing it to him myself. It might even have been rather enjoyable, when the time came, to have been able to say to him, "Now let’s step outside." I’d have given him a good last meal, of course. Still, you must admire the logic of a man who lives in a Communist country, takes out Austrian citizenship, does his banking in Switzerland, and, like a gambler hedging his bets, sends for the pastor at the end in case there could be something in that, too.'
-W.H. Auden, in conversation with Robert Craft (quoted in Craft's Stravinsky: Chronicle of a Friendship) The earth hangs down to the lake, full of yellow ... The walls stand
speechless and cold
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Calling Heads on a Coin without any Tails
It's like when there's an ambulance running through the city and the best way to get through the traffic is to be right behind the ambulance
He chuckles. As an insurgency heavy, still determined to fight the US in Baghdad, Abdul recalls the chaotic looting when Saddam Hussein fell - especially when his gang made off from the vaults of the Rasheed Bank in a 40-seater Kia bus bulging with boxes of tightly packed US banknotes.
They were ferocious days. Crowds were protesting outside the banks, demanding their deposits; hardened criminals were inside, blasting open the vaults; and bewildered American soldiers looked on, not knowing what to do. Abdul (a pseudonym to preserve his anonymity) is uncertain of how much money there was - but he's sure it was hundreds of millions.
• Bank heists fuelling Iraq's terror: Effective immediately [I'm Honourable Fiend, and today I'd like to talk to you about the growing problem of financially-deprived xenophobes Friends of Enemies ; Everyone in the Labour Party who loathes Blair and everything he stands for (and if anyone can figure out what that might be, do drop me a line) will do anything to undo that leadership electio Blair is their personification of makeup over substance, words over action, but most of all dumb over smart; Naughty children in political literature: Chardonnay, no no no, Claret, no erm.... Chardonnay approach to political "belief" ]
• · Prague_Washington_Prague is the first publication of the Vaclav Havel Library, an independent organization set up to show the importance of Havel's work in the establishment of democracy in his country Diplomatic dispatches illuminate the Velvet Revolution ; [Its basic goal is to serve as an archive of documents chronicling the complex battle for democracy and freedom in the second half of the twentieth century through the works of Vaclav Havel. The Vaclav Havel Library strives to initiate and stimulate research, discussion, and meetings devoted to the study of contemporary problems encountered during the transformation of a post-communist state into a socially, economically, and culturally developed civic society. The Vaclav Havel Library]
• · · Even if the money for the prime minister's apartment came from Hitler, it's nobody's business. That's what Stanislav Gross' Uncle Frantisek Vik is telling the press after being questioned for the umpteenth time about whether he loaned his charismatic nephew 2.5 million Kc ($108,225) to buy an apartment. Standa's costly home; [Australian Institute of Criminology: The ultimate goal of crime prevention is to develop a highly reliable method for forecasting future crime trends and problems. Is Political Crime predictable? ; Australia has secretly forced a senior Israeli diplomat to leave the country, for reasons that neither government will divulge. Expulsion of Israeli envoy covered up ]
• · · · The Strathfield Labor councillor John Abi-Saab has admitted to telling a series of lies to his then friend and fellow councillor Alfred Tsang about who had taped him accepting a bribe Bribery inquiry hears of threats to mayor ; Claims of council corruption have ended up before ICAC because of a battle over who should benefit from the big money to be made from redevelopment. The inquiry is also concerned with the motivation and objectives of those who have sought to manipulate a public official Brave Anne Davies Going Deep; March 2003: Strathfield South Shopkeepers Association asks for a rezoning of the rundown south Strathfield commercial area to allow up to 5:1 floor space ratios. Unfolding developments ; Tall storeys at centre of bribe claim
• · · · · Sydney's sewers should be opened up to private companies, the National Competition Council has ruled, paving the way for greater recycling of effluent Open up sewers to private parts ; To quote the late Lionel Murphy, thank god for the jury system Sugar Ray Robinson found not guilty of fraud
• · · · · · Private property developers and financiers will bid for a $500 million project to knock down and rebuild the rundown Bonnyrigg Estate, for a combination of 1400 private dwellings and 600 public housing. Tripodi starts making waves with $500m project ; The Royal Nepal Army is using the state of emergency to carry out waves of arrests - firstly of upper-and middle-ranking politicians, then student leaders and now human rights activists - in a clear attempt to silence opposition. Wave of arrests as king tightens his grip ; How a mentally ill female Australian resident ends up in solitary confinement in the Baxter detention centre is mind boggling. Most Australians would find this situation totally reprehensible The Wave never stops with migrants ; The Immigration Minister, Amanda Vanstone, has defended her department's handling of a mentally ill woman's detention Woman of Stone?
