Word: nearings
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Paranoia is above all the death of exaggeration. Many of us became great storytellers in our fear, ascribing near unlimited powers to the state. Life became cramped as we turned inwards on ourselves, picking up the censor's pen to scrupulously measure every word and deed. Ordinary phone calls became exercises in awkward misdirection and elision, and everyday conversations came with a healthy dose of looking over our shoulders. These were habits that I would later find difficult to shake. The movie, it seemed, would not end in Tehran, would have no final scene. (See pictures of Iran's terror...
...China is to keep wasteful spending at tolerable levels, to eventually exit the stimulus program without stalling economic recovery, and to tighten monetary policy sooner rather than later to avert runaway asset bubbles - but without killing the markets. It's a difficult balancing act, as last week's near meltdown in Shanghai shows. Having gone through the crucible of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, China's planners may be up to the task. Still, they need to be reminded now and again that ham-handed or poorly timed policymaking will hurt not only their economy, but also the rest...
...this year's anniversary, a most unlikely voice spoke out. Salvatore (Toto) Riina, the Mafia's notorious former boss of bosses, has broken his silence from his prison cell near Milan, where he is serving a life sentence for dozens of homicides, including the masterminding of the Borsellino hit and one three months earlier of another crusading Sicilian prosecutor, Giovanni Falcone. (See pictures of life in Italy...
...early 1980s, had never made more than a passing (and indecipherable) allusion about the crime to the authorities since his arrest in Palermo a year after the Borsellino killing. His longtime partner in crime and successor as capo dei capi, Bernardo Provenzano, has also stayed mum since his capture near Corleone in 2006. Known as Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mob has long maintained power on the island (and beyond) with the help of omertà, a vow of silence and absolute refusal to cooperate with authorities. Most had expected Riina, 78, to take his secrets to the grave...
...elder statesman by gunning him down as he left a peace rally in the same city. "The pistol did not act on its own, the gunman did not act on his own - what stood behind him was incitement and hatred," Labor lawmaker Shelly Yachimovich said at an impromptu gathering near the site of the shootings on Sunday, consciously echoing comments made after Rabin's assassination...