Out there in the night

 

Some good things never last. Take consistency in the ‘I want my new news yesterday’ world of modern journalism. It is no wonder Atlantic children have developed a nasty Dexadrine habit. Buried as they are under an onslaught of plot shifts more frenzied than the seizure inducing caricature fests that are Michael Bay’s films.  One could even forgive the public for their Fitzgerald-like obsession with the poster children of the swinging noughties.

 

At least there’s a narrative arc.

 

The man who could do no wrong can do no wrong no longer. Try this for a conundrum. President Obama ran on a ticket of change. He instituted a change in policy by not calling for change in Iran.

Now commentators are calling his change credentials into question for his more measured approach to Middle Eastern democracy.  Hands up who's confused.

 

 

Two months ago, protest in the streets of London was simply bad for business. Jonathan Freedland must have forgotten the forlorn faces of city cognoscenti forced to work from home while bank windows were broken with a bit less than reckless abandon.  Protest in the wilds of Iran, on the other hand, makes perfect macroeconomic sense.  As Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs argues, “if the leadership style were to change in Iran and it connected with the rest of the world, then this could be extremely positive.”  Presumably at that point protest will resume being a pointless exercise.      

Yes, what about Iran. The LSE's Fred Halliday provides a bit of background. 

 

It is amazing what death can do to a ghost. Having only recently been spotted reading for Sam Raimi’s untitled Living Dead project, Michael Jackson has regained his temporal crown. Though the question remains, which Michael will be remembered? 

 

Will it be the drug-addled recluse? The tragic symbol of modern celebrity? Or simply the only entertainer able to keep Bono away from the top of the charts?

 

Whoever emerges, it is safe to say that there will be just a touch of spectacle. 

 

Avid consumers of Sky’s hit UK Border Force aside, diversity is an unequivocally good thing. Even the Queen likes a bit of it.  But, Michael Gleeson wonders, at what point does local practice become a greater nuisance?

And finally for something even more shocking than the USA’s Confederations Cup victory over Spain – the US Congress believes in climate change. What’s worse, they’re doing more about it than the UK.

 

At least we can count on politicians for a bit of certainty.