The photographs thus appeared to show systematic abuse by American interrogators at Abu Ghraib, and their publication unleashed an immediate and violent reaction. 'A photograph is a secret about a secret,' the photographer Diane Arbus once said. As Abu Ghraib's secrets were uncovered, the Wall Street Journal published an article about a classified Defense Department Working Group report on interrogation methods. Hazy details about secret memos began to emerge; some documents and even a legal advice were leaked; and the kernel of a suggestion began to germinate. Was there a connection between the abuses at Abu Ghraib and the Administration's own secret interrogation policies at other places, including Guantanamo?
Philippe Sands, Torture Team.
He cried out loud, as if frightened, but in fact the strangled noise he made suggested courage and renewed determination rather than fear. All those years his consciousness had been disintegrating. The chemical load destroyed all the normal boundaries. Voices in the wilderness. Crying out. This is all wrong, this place, this time, this culture. None of what you believe is true. Created on figments of your imagination, on derivative social theories, on media saturation in the hollow echoes of the self, all that, it wasn't real any more. Man oh man, he said, wiping the sweat from his brow, and none of it meant anything, anything at all.
Once, all the future had lain ahead. Christmas was long gone, those what they thought of as terrible times, when they were the only kids on the street who didn't get Christmas presents, while they moped around at the dead end and stared with envy at the toys of the neighbourhood kids. Everything echoes. Moments have a profound resonance. Cringing selves were yet to come. They ran through the bushes with their pants down. The heat stifled in the moving air. Violence was back there, inside the house. Hysterics were far off, in the trees. The whispering voices. The air came from other places, and sheltered here. The caves in the sandstone cliffs could have been inhabited thousands of years ago.
We are one, we are many, goes the popular song, but back then, way back when, we were barely emerging from the chrysalis of childhood, our brains were barely functioning, as The Great Books and the Brtiannica encyclopaedia loomed over his sleeping form, as dreams of intellectual triumph, movement at the station, long walks to the bus stop, the sound of the budgerigars tweating in the neighbour's aviary, as hushed spells settled across the bush, broken only by the fear of his parents, the thought that sooner or later the day would have to end. Magic moments. They stood on the top of tall rocks and shouted: "I'm the king of the castle, and your a dirty rascal."
Mr Nobody came and inspected his land. There was talk he would sell, or build, he didn't seem to really now his own intentions. Us kids gathered around him, listening to his stories, pestering him for information. We didn't meet many people from anywhere else, and we regarded him with fascination. All was lost, lost. Were they going to rob his house because it was smarter than their own? Was Tambar the peace he sought? Everything moved in circles, and he knew those fearsome days, those early despairs, were being finally cast off. There was nothing to be afraid of any more. No one could hurt him. He was master of his own destiny. Clouds and ruin, that luminous, lyrical despair which had propelled him for so long, had gone.
The crowded scenes, the voices, the angst, the eternal quest for satisfaction, the longing for community, the peaceful place that he knew lay somewhere, the burden that had been placed upon him, to see all, to understand all, had been placed by a translucent calm, almost the absence of something. The world was no longer clogged up. He wasn't plotting for the next escape. He dreamt still, perhaps he would always dream, of bars and splendour and joyous toasts, of crowded wonderful days and passionate declarations, of alcohol fuelled diatribes and an astonishing intensity, of shadows that would always stalk him, a despair that would always be his deepest, most loyal partner, an eternal companion, a lover without measure.
A lover which wanted to kill him. An intoxication which would ultimately destroy him. A passionate intensity which would eat away his overriding integrity, would hurt the very one it loved, would demand saviour but instead be his constant companion. He didn't know where it came from. He didn't know where it would end. He missed it when it wasn't there. These shadows, these days, these passings.
THE BIGGER STORY:
http://www.canada.com/cityguides/winnipeg/info/story.html?id=9be246c1-4f50-4d20-949b-725370d403f9
WASHINGTON - A heightened sense of urgency over the economic crisis gripped world leaders Saturday even as U.S. President George W. Bush appeared with the G7 finance ministers - among them Canada's Jim Flaherty - in a bid to underline their resolve to tackle the problem.
At the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, the head of the organization warned the world financial system was teetering on the "brink of systemic meltdown" amid fears over the health of banks that have frozen credit markets.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn said measures taken by rich countries had so far failed in their goals of "stabilizing markets and bolstering confidence," and warned further intervention and co-ordinated actions would be necessary.
Meanwhile, finance leaders from the IMF's 185 member countries on Saturday endorsed the G7 plan to chart a course out of the credit crisis, hoping the broader support will calm markets.
Egyptian Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali, who chairs the IMF's policy-steering committee, said the endorsement should help restore confidence in financial markets.
"We are committed to the plan of action," Boutros-Ghali said, "This is an essential element for restoring confidence," he added.
In a bid to quantify the consequences of the continuing crisis, the IMF's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, said stock markets could fall by another 20 per cent before governments are likely to be in a position to stop the rout.
Markets around the world fell by about that much over the last week alone despite the announcement of major government plans, which have included the U.S. government's $700-billion pledge to buy distressed securities from banks, and an internationally co-ordinated interest rate cut by six nations, including Canada.
In Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called a crisis summit in Paris of the 15 euro zone countries Sunday - even though they had scheduled to meet in Brussels as early as Wednesday.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/12/2388645.htm?section=justin
Finance ministers from the G20 group of leading economies have been meeting in Washington to discuss ways of dealing with the world financial crisis.
Among those attending the G20 meeting is Australia's Treasurer Wayne Swan, who has described the mood as sombre but determined.
World finance ministers have agreed decisive action needs to be taken to prevent more bank failures and kickstart stalled credit markets.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) chairman Youseff Boutrous-Ghali, says it is essential there is a coordinated response to the financial crisis.
"Because the crisis is global, the solution cannot be local," he said.
"The solution has to be global and it has to have the support of the entire financial community."
The crisis meetings will continue tomorrow.
http://business.smh.com.au/business/crisis-spreads-faster-20081012-4z54.html
THE Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan has warned that the economic crisis is flowing through to developing economies much faster and more brutally than expected - including Australia's major trading partners.
Mr Swan emerged from a weekend meeting in Washington of the G20, a group that includes developed and developing nations, saying he was now more worried about the likely effect in Australia and all options were on the table should they be needed.
"People are very sombre because this is now spreading to the developing economies," he said.
But despite the assessments being gloomier than a few days ago, Mr Swan said he believed Australia would avoid a recession.
"My view is we are still better placed, but what is new in the outlook the IMF has given us, and through feedback in meetings and discussions today, is this is spreading with far greater speed to developing economies," he said.
In an interview shown on the ABC's Insiders yesterday, Mr Swan said although Australia would also be hit harder by the crisis of the past week, "all our advice at the moment is that we will continue to grow".
The G20 meeting received a detailed presentation on the latest International Monetary Fund forecasts, which have been revised since the World Economic Outlook was released last week.
Picture window, local art gallery, Redfern, Sydney, Australia.
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