Watching the latest season of The Diplomat during the run-up to the midterms is perhaps one way for a political junkee to try and relax. The Netflix series, now in its fourth season, features a strong cast in an unfolding sequence of fictional events around the American ambassador to Britain (Keri Russell) and her husband (Rufus Sewell), who has recently become Vice-President.
At first, I had been thinking how nice it might be to just become immersed in the doings of a fictional version of a ruthless President (Alison Janney) rather than our own awful reality, but the longer I watched, the more relevant to current events the episodes became.
In the fictional tale, people of principle resigned rather than carry out the President’s illegal orders. That seems unlikely to happen in the present administration.
In a democracy, how our political leaders exercise power is theoretically up to us, the people, but in The Diplomat, the voters are nowhere to be seen.
We’ll find in the weeks ahead what the voters think in real life.
HEADLINES:
Americans are anxious, pessimistic and deeply unhappy with Trump ahead of the midterms (NBC)
Trump approval hits record low, handing Democrats a clear midterm edge (WP)
Trump’s decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages Congress, but no quick counter seen (AP)
Huge Riots in France Prompt Shock and Blame Game (NYT)
Israeli police arrest 10 over settler attacks on journalist and diplomats in West Bank (BBC)
Iran says it has a ‘new operational plan’ if the U.S. resumes attacks, as shipping vessels report strikes (CNBC)
As Iran war spills over, Saudis and Houthis see fighting as only path ahead (WP)
Australian MP Helen Haines critically injured in ‘deliberate’ car ramming (Al Jazeera)
US threatens Europe over Starlink restrictions (FT)
Several dead or injured in major fire at Canada military base (BBC)
Pope Leo pledges gradual return to duties in first event since cancer surgery (Reuters)
Congo’s fast-moving Ebola outbreak spreads to eighth province (AP)
CDC sends a ‘disease detective’ to Pennsylvania amid measles outbreak (The Hill)
US Citizens Wrongfully Detained by ICE Could Get $500K Under New Bill (Newsweek)
Obama blasts Trump admin’s Omar crackdown (Axios)
How the D.S.A. Learned to Love Elections (New Yorker)
Wikipedia often gets taken for granted – but its history is fascinating, and its future is fragile (Guardian)
O.J. Simpson, a Secret Informant and a Decades-Old Mystery (NYT)
The Diplomat Season 4 Finale Is Shocking, Empowering, and Surprisingly Sad (Elle)
AI NEWS:
OnlyFans Creators Are Pissed That Meta Lets Muse Talk Dirty (Wired)
How Meta Built Forum With AI-Native Engineering (Meta)
How AI Could Take Over the World (Newsweek)
Claude cracks 25-year NSA cryptography mystery in under 30 minutes (Ynet)
Consumer apprehension grows as US retailers adopt AI-assisted pricing tools (AP)
Fake it and you’ll make it (China Talk)
Cartoon: Signs your smart devices were hacked by rogue AI (WP)
Weird Cleveland Browns Fan Has No Children On Team (Onion)
No comments:
Post a Comment