Wednesday, July 19, 2006

The Dangers and Glories of Manipulating Reality

A very interesting piece. Must read.

The Dangers and Glories of Manipulating Reality:

Normally, I'd be writing about the dangerous, quickly-expanding conflict between Israel and its neighbors - both sides apparently spoiling for a final reckoning - that easily could provide the spark for a full-scale war in the region, and beyond. (As should have been expected, the clueless Bush Administration is doing nothing to stop the slaughter, indeed chooses to look the other way as Israel totally over-reacts to a bad decision by Hezbollah.)

But I'm holding off for three reasons: 1) The blogosphere is inundated with commentary that covers the ground well, including the likelihood of a spreading Middle East conflict involving Syria and Iran, in addition to the ongoing disaster that is Bush's war in Iraq. 2) I've written much in recent months about the Israel/Palestine mutual-destruction society. 3) Things are happening so fast in that Middle East cauldron that by the time my piece appears, large sections of it could be out of date. (The dangers of writing a once-a-week column.)

Instead this week, I want to talk about photography: both the political implications of its new technology, and as a metaphor for the discovery of truth.

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