They are targeting Australia this time.
South bound Harbour Bridge locked down,
Martin Place and the Opera House evacuated,
busses diverted - Livetraffic.com giving road closures,
things changing minute
by minute
by bomb-ticking moment.
Appropriate police presence in place
(no pun intended)
Vision of shuffling special operations officers (I presume)
night vision goggles mounted miner-like
on camouflaged and jungle-green helmets.
All kit dulled green and discreetly bullet-proofed.
Balaclava-ed so no identifying snaps can be made, avoiding (I presume)
any possible reprisals.
Black flag with Arabic script - SHAHADA -There is no God but Allah
and Mohamed is his Messenger -
doesn't sound like a terror-ble message
so why have chocolat lovers been taken hostage?
Camera glimpses of man with a beard, bandanna
and a backpack - innocent bystander or sinister participant?
Tearful young woman being interviewed,
name of Rosemary, had walked ordinarily
out of Martin Place train station - destination: Lindt Choclat Café,
pushed back by cordoning police, coolly concerned but abrupt
as one must be in an emergency.
Prime Minister will be holding news conf at 12.30 pm AEDT.
Will not be grandstanding, apparently (as he has in the past).
Now being called an incident, a siege, a situation.
Convoluted and/or legalistic language being invoked.
'One man has been arrested and people are being evacuated from the building' -
orange and black headed banner announces at bottom of screen.
'Live. Canberra', equally harlequin bugs top left.
A few minutes later: 'Arrested man not related to siege',
All expressing and stressing confidence in the national security
and law enforcement agencies -
as they must, what else can they say?
Customers have been forced to hold their hands
against the shop's windows,
the strangely tangible proof of humanity somehow raises
the heart rate.
We have all held hands, at some stage,
have we not?
We have all held out a hand to another,
whether to be polite, to seal a contract or to offer genuine help?
So many customs, gestures, symbols, edicts associated
with hands.
Yet never have the sight of two hands raised
and pressed against a window, the palms and pads
yellowed by pressure,
so moved me to terrible pity.
