Nuclear Proliferation Keeps Rupert Murdoch Up At Night

It's been a very hectic day at the conference here – hence the paucity of postings on this blog – but I'll try to do some catching up now, and I'll start with a quote from the one and only Rupert Murdoch, who was on a panel at lunch. Rupert is not a man who's worried about what he calls "alleged global warming". He's not worried about demographics and health-care costs. But he is worried:

I wouldn't discount at all the danger of nuclear proliferation, and if Iran gets away with it, there will be half a dozen others and will all end in disaster for us all.

A nuclear holocaust, of course, is the ultimate black swan. How does one go about trying to minimize its probability? With difficulty, and with lots of hard work. But Murdoch's own industry can help. Mass media can result in cultural convergence – just ask any Frenchman about the number of US movies playing at his local multiplex. The world's terrorist hotspots also happen to be areas which haven't been touched by Fox movies or Page Three girls. Which is probably, net-net, just as well. But I still hold out some hope for humanity, once it's really connected.