<nettime> Enough truths to cope with already

[almost@riseup.net]

Enough truths to cope with already
http://partialobjects.com/2011/05/enough-truths-to-cope-with-already/

Tarksi wondered how we could tell whether snow is white. We have more
challenging propositional conundrums.

Extreme possible worlds

Bin Laden sprang out of bed with an AK47 in each hand. A millisecond
before squeezing the triggers, a Navy SEAL shot him in the eye.
“Shit!” exclaimed the US shooter, realizing the democratic West was in
trouble. There’ll be no fair trial, no hope for justice. One of his
comrades patted him on the shoulder, “There’s nothing we could have
done.” Back in DC, Hilary Clinton covered her face, realizing
immediately the repercussions – who would believe them when they said
that he slept with guns?

Bin Laden was lying asleep, naked, in bed, with no sign of guns or
explosives. His wife woke first and started to scream on seeing the
SEALS. She was shot in the leg: “Shut up bitch.” As Bin Laden woke up,
he was shot in the head as the US assassin screamed, “YEEEE HAAAW!”
“Mission accomplished,” said the SEAL with a smile, waving to
President Obama via the video hookup.

We must know the truth

There’s an enormous space of possibilities consistent with what we
hear from the news for just about every news event. The first to come
was whether the SEALS were really engaged in a gunfight. There’s the
issue of sovereignty in Pakistan: is it possible that Pakistan
secretly welcomes the drone attacks? That Pakistan knew the SEALS were
coming but couldn’t admit this for fear of civil war when the locals
discovered?

Then there’s the videos of Bin Laden watching himself. News of his
porn stash. Could all be true and not fabricated. Could be a cheap
PsyOp.

It’s of crucial importance that we work out how to uncover the real
truth. What really happened? What were the motivations?

Well, actually, it’s not important. If even a fraction of what is
probable, is actually true, e.g., that the US is executing people
without trial in Pakistan using remote controlled drones, we have a
major problem. The obvious truth is bad enough. The details and
conspiracies don’t matter – they just distract from what we already
know.

So, of all the scary news, what’s most likely to be true? And what
should we do about it?


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