Edward Burtynsky, Old Factories #4, Shenyang Heavy Machinery Group, Tiexi District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China Courtesy Charles Cowles Gallery, 2005

Sandra Senn, Untitled (from the series “Places”), Courtesy J.J. Heckenhauer Gallery, 2005

Erwin Wurm, Fuck the 3rd world, 2003, Anne de Villepoix
[I admit I included this photo only because of the caption. No, I don’t understand it either. And no, it wouldn’t have made sense even if this picture were of the Great Wall of China. There is something striking though about the loneliness and futility of the demented dream. — AK]

More. Via Azra Raza.

Even a Republican can be right. Here is Andrew Sullivan:

George W. Bush just gave the most powerful reason for voting Democratic next Tuesday. He has reiterated unconditional support for the two architects of the chaos in Iraq, Cheney and Rumsfeld. He intends to keep Rumsfeld in his job until 2008! Why not a medal of freedom while he’s at it?

Let me put this kindly: anyone who believes that Donald Rumsfeld has done a “fantastic job” in Iraq is out of his mind. The fact that such a person is president of the United States is beyond disturbing. But then this is the man who told Michael Brown he was doing a “heckuva job.” And, yes, our Iraq policy begins to look uncannily like the Katrina response.

The president, in other words, has just proved that he is utterly unhinged from reality, in a state of denial truly dangerous for the world. He needs an intervention. Think of this election as an intervention against a government in complete denial and capable of driving the West off a cliff. You can’t merely abstain now. Bush just raised the stakes. And he must be stopped.

Talking about Rumsfeld, here are some quotes:

“I’m not into this detail stuff. I’m more concepty.”

“I don’t do quagmires.”

“I don’t do diplomacy.”

“I don’t do foreign policy.”

“I don’t do predictions.”

“I don’t do numbers.”

“I don’t do book reviews.”

“If I know the answer I’ll tell you the answer, and if I don’t, I’ll just respond, cleverly.”