Watch the Red Card

Perception is everything, and perception is based on context.  For a demonstration, check out this presentation of an optical illusion from Shadowboxing (via Marginal Revolution).  Designers of all stripes and hues can heave their way with us by using artful juxtaposition and showing us what they want in the surroundings they choose.

Okay, now on to my agenda.  Were the Iraqis better off under Saddam?  Certainly, this has been hinted at by some prominent folk, and I would bet that a poll would reveal a sizable chunk, if not a majority of the world, would answer, "Yes, Hussein was better than Bush."

So how dangerous is Iraq? Certainly it's less hazardous a place than, say South Africa, home of the world's most progressive constitution, a country that kicked apartheid's butt.  Right?

You can get the answers to both questions at The Strategy Page (via One Hand Clapping). 

Comments

[rachjak]

The only red cards I watch out for are the ones held punitively aloft by the referree on the heads of my favorite English midfielders.

Have you read by J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace"? Powerful little tale that describes the anarchy and violence of South Africa by way of a CapeTown University professor's sloppy dalliance with a coed.