Anxious Visions in a Blue Screen

Like many Australians, I had just finished watching the live telecast of Donald Trump’s inspiring speech at last week’s Republican Convention following his miraculous survival of an assassination attempt when, suddenly, the screen pixelated then died. Trump had just recounted how he had survived the sniper’s bullet that nipped his ear just as he turned his head to look at a screen showing illegal immigration numbers, The coverage immediately  suffered the equivalent of sudden cardiac arrest.

We didn’t know why, but at the same moment, other news channels also went on the blink, along with supermarket checkouts, banking systems, a wide range of commercial enterprises and health networkss. Lines formed at airports as flights were cancelled globally and aircraft  at some international airports were placed on holding patterns as runways were occupied by planes unable to take off. We were soon informed by a couple of stalwarts on Sky News that it was all the result of a…