James Governor made a great observation in his del.icio.us feed about how we’re getting spun on Iran. Take a look at this Newsweek photo gallery, Modern Life in Iran. It consists of black and white shots of old women in hijabs, anti-American slogans, and people who look like they face a dreary existence. Our cold-eyed enemies living in despair. Then take a look at the Flickr shots from iranpx. Iranians at picnics. Snowy days in Tehran. Iranians on the ski slopes.
I imagine more people can accept the idea of bombs raining down on the city in the first set of photos than the city in the second set. Exposing these kinds of disconnects is one way that Web 2.0 could really change the world. Yes, Iran has a rotten government that is opposed to the United States and oppresses its own people, but can we really invade a country full of Flickr users and bloggers?
February 13, 2007 at 10:55 pm
The Iran war is a war for Israel.
Newsweek is one of the most pro-Israel magazines on the planet (perhaps more then many Israeli magazines!)
Notice in the captions how they put occupation in quotation marks, even though the UN has reaffirmed the Israeli occupation many, many times, and even the US does not recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel.
Just another example of the pro-Israel manipulation which happens daily, hourly, in our nation’s main press outlets.
February 14, 2007 at 6:56 am
Thanks for picking this up Rafe. i am feeling a bit guilty now because i am pretty sure i didn’t credit whoever pointed the newsweek pics out to me in the first place. i did the flickr surf though. as you say its easier to bomb the shit out of people in black and white-they are in the past so it doesn’t count.
February 14, 2007 at 12:07 pm
A really great post. I’ve enjoyed your blog for a few years now. Thanks for taking the time to put it together and keep it updated.
February 14, 2007 at 12:20 pm
I got a chuckle out of rearranging your last line
Wait, that’s not funny.
February 14, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Thank you Rafe. Thank you very much. This is so important for people to understand.